|
MUMBAI:
Amid much fanfare, the 14th Mumbai Film Festival, presented by Reliance
Entertainment and American Express got off to a grand opening with
Sridevi lighting the inaugural lamp along with veteran film maker
Shyam Benegal, chairman and trustees of Mumbai Academy of Moving
Image (MAMI).
The opening function also saw the introduction and felicitation
of the jury members of international competition India Gold 2012,
Celebrate Age and Dimensions Mumbai. "We look forward to another
year of bringing superlative global cinema to our patrons and promoting
budding talent at the festival," commented festival director
Srinivasan Narayanan.
The
function continued with Anil Kapoor calling on stage Anupam Kher,
whose critically acclaimed comedy-drama Silver Linings Playbook
kick-started the 8-day long festival. The film is directed by David
O Russell and stars Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro. Speaking
on the occasion Kher said, "I have always endeavoured to make
films with passion and I am glad to have been provided with an opportunity
to work with such amazing co-actors."
Chief
initiator of the festival, Tina Ambani conferred director, producer,
writer and actor from the People's Republic of China Zhang Yimou
the Lifetime Achievement Award for Foreign Film Personalities.
"The 14th Mumbai Festival is an initiative truly close to
my heart and a very special connection to my cinematic roots,"
she observed.
The
opening day function's red carpet and movie screening witnessed
a host of film artistes, filmmakers, renowned litterateurs and
cine-philes including Jaya Bachchan, Manisha Koirala, Leander
Paes, Shobhaa and Dilip De, Ila Arun, Kirron Kher, Rahul Bose,
Ranvir Shorey, Milind Soman, Shahana Goswami, R. Balki with wife
and filmmaker Gauri Shinde, Pritish Nandy, Sridhar Raghavan, Sanjay
and Ambika Suri,Dibakar Banerjee and Hansal Mehta among others.
All
in all, the first day of the 14th Mumbai Film Festival set pace
for the week-long cinematic extravaganza that promises to feature
the finest works of cinematic genius from a lineup of over 200
films.
| 
