The 19th Kolkata International Film Festival was on Sunday inaugurated by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan amidst much fanfare in a gala function organised by the Bengal Government and attended amongst others by superstar and State brand ambassador Shahrukh Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Kamal Hassan, Jaya Bachchan, Ranjit Mullick and a galaxy of cine personalities of present and yesteryear from India and abroad.
In the blockbuster of an evening, graced by Who’s Who of Bollywood and Tollywood, the venue at Netaji Indoor Stadium tended to come alive with a 12-minute dance performance reliving 100 years of Indian cinema. The eight-day carnival would show case a mix of contemporary and regional movies. It would feature 189 films from 63 countries. Around 3,000 delegates were gracing the function.
The film festival that had been taken to international heights by then Marxist Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee — known for his penchant for the abstract and cerebral films — as a platform for parallel cinema has been afforded a different dimension by present Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who has introduced the mainstream cine stars to afford a glitzy touch to one of the most high-profile cine events of the country.
“I am very happy and delighted ... that Shri Amitabh Bachchan ji, a great legend” would inaugurate the film festival, she earlier said. “It delights me all the more to meet some of my former colleagues after more than 30 years and I must thank Ms Banerjee for making that opportunity,” Ms Bachchan, a “real Bengali like Mithun Chakraborty”, later said.