54th IFFI 2023 concludes tonight ! At grand inaugural, Madhuri Dixit greeting the film and foreign delegates in Goan-Konkani bhasha, was a sweet-surprise tadka. by Chaitanya Padukone

All good things (and even awesome film festivals) as they say, gracefully come to an end !!.  Tonight ( November 28^th) after eight glorious days, the globally acclaimed ongoing 54th IFFI in exotic Goa will gracefully conclude with the presentation of various prestigious 54^th IFFI 2023 Awards, speeches and entertaining segments. Viacom-18’s COLORS and JioCinema have been assigned to telecast the opening and closing ceremonies exclusively. At the closing ceremony tonight, several awards and special honors will be presented for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Male) and (Female), ‘Special Jury Award’, ‘Best Web Series on an OTT Platform’, ‘Indian Film Personality of the Year’, ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal.  The acclaimed Wizcraft is also playing its effective vital-support role in the event-organizing

Next year,  the prestigious IFFI  will be celebrating its 55^th year and also 20 years of IFFI in destination Goa.

It may be recalled that the star-studded opening ceremony was marked by the high-voltage dance performances by Madhuri Dixit and Shahid Kapoor along with amazing support by Shriya Saran, Nushratt Bharucha, Pankaj Tripathi, Shantanu Moitra, Shreya Ghoshal and Sukhwinder Singh, while the ceremony is being hosted on stage by the exuberant duo Aparshakti Khurrana and Karishma Tanna.  There were informative yet inspiring speeches given by both the dynamic Union I & B Minister Anurag Thakur and the competent Chief Minister of Goa—Shri  Pramod Sawant.  As part of their protocol, the Goan CM-Mr Pramod Sawant spoke in English and also gave a brief sentimental speech in the local Goan-Konkani dialect .

For the first time the IFFI 54 this time awarded legendary Bollywood heroine Madhuri Dixit-Nene on stage with a  Citation-Scroll and Award-Plaque as a “Special Recognition for her phenomenal contribution  (for past nearly 40 years) to Bharatiya Cinema”. The traditional Shawl and Plaque Award were presented to Madhuri amidst thunderous applause, by the Union I & B Minister Mr Thakur and the Goa CM Mr Sawant.  When she greeted the audience in local Goan-Konkani language ( 'Kassaa Assa'—How are You ) there was a delightful response from the audience.  While thanking the organizers for the esteemed Award, Madhuri said that that before IFFI started in Goa ( 19 years ago_ tourists would come to Goa more for a holiday-vacation. “But now they will also be coming to Goa for the IFFI  to enjoy the Pan-India and World Cinema festival-feast of curated amazing movies”.  Madhuri also expressed the social perks benefits of shooting for movies.  “During the course of our film shoots which goes on for many months or sometimes over a year, on locations or at film studios,  we develop a  warm rapport bonding with our friendly co-stars. It is  always like an ‘extended family’  away from home,” she said amidst audience applause

Besides the distinguished foreign film-makers and actors, the turn-out of top filmy celebs included Rahul Rawail, Shekhar Kapur, Karan Johar, Prasoon Joshi, Sunny Deol, Vijay Sethupathi, Pankaj Tripathi, Karan Johar, Sara Ali Khan, Shreya Ghosal and many more

As per the schedules, Ayushmann Khurrana along with Amit Trivedi are expected  to headline the closing ceremony on Tuesday, November 28th

Legendary Hollywood actor-producer Michael Douglas, will be  receiving  the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the  54^th IFFI-2023

The 54^th  IFFI 2023 Festival was also graced by Catherine Zeta-Jones, Salman Khan, Khushboo Sundar, Vidya Balan, Pankaj Tripathi, Ayushmann Khurrana, Anupam Kher, Vicky Kaushal, Siddharth Malhotra, Aditi Rao Hydari, AR Rahman, Shreya Ghoshal, Shantanu Moitra, Sukhwinder Singh, Amit Trivedi, Aparshakti Khurrana and Karishma Tanna among several celebrated delegates, actors and filmmakers.

The 54th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) was hosted in Goa from November 20th to 28th. While more than 252 films are being showcased across the various sections of the festival, the gala opening ceremony was hosted on November 20th at Shyamaprasad Indoor Stadium, Panaji, Goa.

Speaking about IFFI, Hon’ble Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur said, “IFFI has been growing every year thanks to the passion of our filmmakers from across the country and the collaboration that we have been able to forge with the directors and producers from across the world. As we take forward Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of strengthening India’s global position across all sectors, cinema, arts and culture can empower our youth to foray on the world stage with stories that are global in essence and local at heart. Indeed, IFFI has become the perfect platform for establishing collaborations, joint productions and cutting-edge technology.”

Says, Shri Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, “The Indian media and entertainment industry has been growing at an average of 20 percent annually over the last three years with a special focus on original stories for a global audience and use of state-of-the-art technology. This year, IFFI received a record number of 2926 entries from 105 countries, three times more than last year. While working along with the country’s film industry, our team’s efforts are aimed at pushing the boundaries to make the festival bigger and better with every new edition.”

Shri Prithul Kumar, Festival Director- IFFI (Jt. Secretary (Films) & MD/NFDC) informs, “This IFFI -2023  had  13 World Premieres, 18 International Premieres, 62 Asia Premieres and 89 India Premieres. The Festival Team has and is working tirelessly to make sure that the participants-delegates  enjoy the outstanding films, engage in thought-provoking discussions and leave with memories that will last a lifetime”