West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and actor Salman Khan release a brochure during the inauguration of the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival, in Kolkata, on, Dec. 5, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Bollywood superstars Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, regulars at the inauguration of the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) over the past several years, gave the 29th edition of the festival a miss as it opened in Kolkata on Tuesday.
The film festival was inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the presence of Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Trinamool Congress MP and actor Shatrughan Sinha and his daughter Sonakshi Sinha.
Both Mr. Shahrukh Khan and Mr. Bachchan have a long association with the city. SRK, besides being the co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, has been the brand ambassador of West Bengal. It was only recently that Mr. Banerjee announced former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly as the Brand Ambassador of the State. The Bachchan family and the Chief Minister also share close ties, with Ms. Banerjee even calling upon the Bachchans at their residence in Mumbai during her visit in August.
Inaugurating the film festival, the Chief Minister tried to explain their absence. “Amitabh (ji) is not well and Shahrukh is busy promoting the film of her daughter,” Ms. Banerjee said.
The Chief Minister spoke of unity in the country and said nobody can divide the people.
Salman Khan, one of the key guests at the festival, said that KIFF is among the biggest film festivals in the country. This year, a total of 219 movies from 39 countries will be screened from December 5 to 12 across 23 venues in the city. The 1963 Bengali film Deya Neya, starring matinee idol Uttam Kumar, was the inaugural film at the festival.
The Film festival has an International Competition section (Innovation in Moving Images), under which 13 films from across the world will vie for the Best Film and Best Director Golden Royal Bengal Trophies with prize money of ₹51 lakh and ₹21 lakh, respectively. This year, the organisers have introduced a competitive section with a prize money of ₹7.5 lakh for the winner. Spain will be the focus country at the film festival and six works from the country will be screened. Australia will be the special focus country and its films will be screened too.
The festival will offer tributes to Mrinal Sen, Dev Anand and Richard Attenborough by screening their films. The prestigious Satyajit Ray Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Laurence Kardish on December 9. Actor Manoj Bajpayee and filmmaker Sudhir Mishra will address one of the masterclass sessions on acting and direction.