The International Film Festival of India kick starts in Goa

The International Film Festival of India kick started in Goa with film star Rekha inaugurating the event. The film fest promises a slew of film screenings with Bollywood celebs in tow.

India’s most prestigious International Film Festival saw a grand opening in Goa with evergreen actress Rekha inaugurating the ceremony. Nearly 225 films from across the globe will be screened during the next 10 days. Rekha says, "It’s a great pleasure and honor to do this. Thank you for choosing me to do this." Amrita Rao played host and many other Bollywood stars made appearances on opening night.

Even though reports say Aamir Khan and John Abraham have decided to give IFFI a miss, many others are planning to show up. Director of IFFI S M Khan says, "Randhir kapoor, Akbar Khan, Gul Panag, Sanjay Khan, Manisha Koirala, Naseeruddin Shah, Kabir Bedi, Mithun Chakrobarty, Kamal Haasan, Tapan Sinha will be there to receive an award, Feroz khan." The Goa festival opens with Peter Chan’s The Warlords a Chinese war epic set in the 1860s. There are 60 foreign-language films and 80 Indian films lined up for the audience, including Bollywood hits like Jodhaa Akbar and Taare Zameen Par.

French actress Catherine Deneuve will be honoured during the festival and Directors Wong Kar Wai and Bimal Roy are set to showcase their films. This year, IFFI has a special section of films about the Taj Mahal and the cine fest will end with famed Iranian director Majid Majidi’s The Song of the Sparrows.