Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan is expected to inaugurate the upcoming 21st edition of Kolkata Film Festival - there would be 149 films screened from 61 countries. The opening ceremony of the eight-day festival (November 14-21) at the Netaji Indoor Stadium is also expected to be attended by Jaya Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore, Moushumi Chatterjee and Vidya Balan.
This has been reported in
indianexpress.com dated 3 November 2015.
This has been informed by information and cultural secretary of the West Bengal government.
The inauguration was supposed to be done by West Bengal brand ambassador superstar Shah Rukh Khan but, he will not be present at the festival “because he will be busy with his shooting commitments of Dilwale”.
There are possibilities that Pakistani film Manto will be screened at the inaugural ceremony on November 14.
The festival has been categorised into 15 sections with “India Unheard” as the new one. A budget of Rs eight crore has been kept and the best film will be awarded with the Royal Bengal Trophy. It will bag the cash of Rs 51 lakh while the best director will be rewarded with Rs 21 lakh. The Best short film and the documentary will be awarded Rs one lakh each.
Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore is the chairperson of the Jury consisting of famed film personalities including — Sri Lankan actress Swarna Mallawarachchi, Polish director Filip Macczewrk and Israeli filmmaker Samuel Muoz. Percussionist Ratul Shankar has composed the theme music for the festival using instruments like electric sitar, flute and different kinds of percussions for the minute-long theme song that will be in Bengali and English versions.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)
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