Ending the long wait, the opening ceremony of one of the most prestigious film festivals across the world – the 49th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) opened amidst the presence of film stars, filmmakers and cine-lovers from across the world amid pomp and gaiety in Panjim, Goa.
The opening ceremony of IFFI 2018 was anchored by Mandira Bedi and Amit Sadh and saw the presence of eminent Indian and international film personalities such as Akshay Kumar, Karan Johar, Randhir Kapoor, Prasoon Joshi, Julien Landais, Barbara Meier, Nicolas Hau, Lois Robbins, Siddharth Roy Kapoor, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Robert Glinski, Tom Fitzpatrick, Poonam Dhillon, Hrishita Bhatt, Madhur Bhandarkar, Subhash Ghai, Arijit Singh, Ramesh Sippy, Chin Han among many others. Apart from this, a host of celebrities walked the red carpet, adding a sprinkle of glitz to the ceremony.
The inaugural ceremony of the festival saw dignitaries such as Union Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting,(IC) Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Governor of Goa Ms Mridula Sinha, Secretary Information & Broadcasting Mr Amit Khare, IFFI Festival Director Mr Chaitanya Prasad, Chairman Jury Mr Robert Glinski, PWD Minister of Transport & River Navigation of Goa Ramakrishna alias Mr Sudin Dhavalikar, Chief Secretary of Goa Mr Dharmendra Sharma and Chairman ESG Rajendra Talak who lit the lamp, thereby declaring IFFI 2018 open.
Union Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said that “India is a land of storytellers where every person has a story to tell. These stories inspire and entertain us. IFFI is a platform for our young generation to showcase their talent. It is a platform for the international filmmakers to see India and explore the talent that we have. It is a great collaboration for both the sides. It is incredible of the Information and Broadcasting team and Entertainment Society of Goa to have an event on such a massive scale. There are Masterclasses held by experts in the entertainment industry and I hope the organisation involved is putting it online so that it reaches everyone. We are focusing on the past, the present and the future. Showing films like Sholay and also content from OTT platforms. It is a lovely time to come to Goa since this year we are having street cinema open to the tourists who are visiting the state for the next 9 days and they can experience this at IFFI.” The Hon. Minister said this while walking the red carpet at the opening ceremony of 49th International Film Festival of India in Goa.
