Grand inauguration of 54th International Film Festival of India in Goa… Madhuri Dixit and Sunny Deol will be present

Hollywood actresses Catherine Zeta-Jones, Salman Khan, Vidya Balan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Anupam Kher, Vicky Kaushal, Siddharth Malhotra, Aditi Rao Hydari, A.R. Rahman, Shreya Ghoshal, Shantanu Maitra, Sukhwinder Singh, Amit Trivedi, Aparshakti Khurana, and Karishma Tanna and many more filmmakers will grace the 54th International Film Festival of India.

The 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is being organized from 20th November to 28th November at the Open Ground including Cinema Hall, Inox Multiplex, and Academy of Arts located on the premises of the Entertainment Society of Goa located on the banks of River Mandovi in Panaji, Goa. More than 250 films are being screened in various sections of the festival. On the evening of Monday, 20th November, everyone was waiting for the grand inauguration ceremony at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium located in Panaji, Goa. The highlights of the inauguration ceremony were Shahid Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Shriya Saran, Nushrat Bharucha, Pankaj Tripathi, Shantanu Moitra, Shreya Ghoshal and Sukhwinder Singh. The glittering ceremony was hosted by Aparshakti Khurana and Karishma Tanna.

The 54th edition of the International Film Festival of India has rolled out the red carpet to welcome celebrities, the film fraternity, and cinephiles from across the country and the world. IFFI has emerged as a favourite festival in the global festival circuit this year with a whopping 2926 film entries from 105 countries, three times more international submissions than last year. Film-mad audiences and delegates can enjoy over 270 films across the festival, featuring a curated selection of 13 World, 18 International, 62 Asian, and 89 Indian premieres. 15 feature films (12 international and three Indian films) are competing for the prestigious Golden Peacock Award and 32 entries from 15 OTT platforms are competing for the Best Web Series (OTT) award.

Every year, the opening ceremony is graced with stars from the film industry and this time too the star-studded evening added color to the grand event. Highlighting the Government's initiative to establish India as a global film destination, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Anurag Thakur announced special incentives to invite big-budget international film productions to India. The incentive for foreign film production has been increased from 30% to 40%. The incentive for foreign film production in the country today stands at 40% of the spend with an increased limit of Rs. ₹30 crore (over US$3.5 million) and an additional 5% percent bonus for significant Indian content (sic). The move will further accelerate India's efforts to attract medium and big-budget international film projects to the country.

An incentive scheme for the production of foreign films was announced by India at Cannes last year, offering reimbursement of up to 30% of the expenses incurred for film production in the country, limited to Rs 2.5 crore. Making the announcement in Goa, Mr. Thakur said, “This paradigm shift in encouraging film production serves as a testament to India's commitment and support for artistic expression and our position as a preferred destination for cinematic endeavors. Strengthens the position".

International productions that have been granted permission for shooting by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and the Ministry of External Affairs (only for documentaries) after 01.04.2022 will be eligible for this incentive scheme. The incentive will be distributed in two phases i.e. interim and final. The final disbursement claim can be made after completion of the project in India. The incentive will be provided on the recommendation of a Special Incentive Evaluation Committee. The Film Facility Office (FFO) established under the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) is implementing this incentive scheme. The FFO serves as a single-window facility and clearance mechanism that makes filming in India easier, while also striving to create a film-friendly ecosystem and promote the country as a filming destination.

Talking about the facts and achievements of Indian cinema, the speech of the Minister was full of anecdotes and dialogues from films. He explained how films influence film culture. Citing the example of the dialogue 'Babumoshay, Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahi' from the film Anand, the Minister said that IFFI offers a cinematic experience that is grand. Referring to the impact of cinema on society, he pointed out how the 1902 film 'A Trip in the Moon' boldly suggested the idea of space travel and India realized its dream this year with the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon. He said, "It shows how an idea could have been conceived during a film, but over time the government starts thinking in that direction."

Highlighting several such achievements which were included for the first time in the IFFI 54th edition, the Minister mentioned the festival focusing on 40 women filmmakers. He explained in detail about the 75 Creative Minds initiative, which received 600 entries from across the country this year. To protect the intellectual property of the creative fraternity, he mentioned the recent Cinematograph Amendment Bill 2023, which broadened the legal framework, focused on censorship, and also shared vigorous measures against piracy i.e., theft of films.

Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant, while welcoming all the delegates, highlighted his government's commitment to promote film and said that the Entertainment Society of Goa has expressed interest in the proposed Film City in the state.

This was the first time at the festival that superstar Madhuri Dixit was especially honoured for her contribution to Indian cinema. Sharing his memories on stage, he recalled his first audition in the film ‘Abodh’ for Rajshri Production.

Cinematographer: Ramakant Munde Mumbai