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EYE ON BOLLYWOOD NOVEMBER 28, 2025 | The Indian Eye 38

IFFI 2025

Goa Turns into a Living Set as Festival Opens

with Street Parade, Star Power and Debates

The 56th International Film Festival of India began in Panjim with an open-air cultural extravaganza,

star-studded appearances and a candid conversation on the changing language of cinema — signalling
a bold new chapter for India’s biggest film festival.

cance. Three of his films — his home
OUR BUREAU
production Tanvi The Great, The
Panjim (Goa) Bengali Files, and the Canadian fea-
or decades, the International ture Calorie — are screening at the
Film Festival of India (IFFI) festival. “It is a very proud moment
Fopened inside auditoriums: for me… I am not sure if any other
formal, contained, elegant. But in actor has had such an opportunity,”
2025, it broke free. On Wednesday, he said. With more than 40 years and
Panjim’s streets themselves became 549 films behind him, Kher described
the stage as the 56th edition unfurled the moment as “a great honour and a
with a historic parade that blurred the great feeling,” adding that each of the
lines between cinema and celebration. three films showcases a different facet
Hundreds of artists, dozens of floats of his craft.
and iconic scenes from Hindi cinema He will also conduct a masterclass
stretched across Goa’s boulevards, titled Giving Up Is Not an Option —
turning the city into a sprawling festi- The 56th edition of the International Film Festival of India began in Goa on Thursday (Photo: X) a fitting theme for a festival celebrat-
val of sound and movement. ing reinvention at a time when global
For the first time in its long his- are using [technology] for everything. dozen floats — 12 from the state gov- cinema itself is navigating change, dis-
tory, IFFI stepped “beyond the walls The heroes also don’t come to the sets. ernment — showcased India’s cine- ruption and new possibilities.
of tradition”, as officials described They just shoot before the green mat matic heritage, regional diversity and Across the 240 films from 81
it, taking the opening ceremony into or the blue mat. And I am original. I the fast-growing world of Indian an- countries, this year’s IFFI promises
the heart of Goa. Spectators lined am not a duplicate.” imation. The scale of the production 13 world premieres, four internation-
the riverfront, smartphones ready, as His comments, delivered in IF- signalled IFFI’s intent to evolve from al premieres and 46 Asian premieres.
performers — from folk dancers to FI’s otherwise future-focused setting, a festival into a cultural spectacle that But beyond the statistics, what was un-
animated characters — moved in a struck a chord. This year’s theme — belongs as much to the public as to mistakable on Day 1 was the festival’s
seamless swirl of colour and nostalgia. Convergence of Creativity and Tech- the industry. desire to reimagine itself — not just as
The festival paid homage to India’s nology — celebrates India’s ambitions The festival’s global ambitions an industry gathering but as a public
past and future: Guru Dutt to Gadar, to lead the global creative revolution. were also reflected in the choice of celebration of storytelling.
Sholay to Ram Charan’s upcoming Yet Balakrishna’s critique under- opening film. Gabriel Mascaro’s The As music, animation, folklore and
Peddi, Chhota Bheem to Motu-Patlu. scored a tension shaping filmmaking Blue Trail (O Último Azul), a dysto- cinema converged on Panjim’s streets,
The parade felt less like an opening worldwide: how to embrace digital in- pian drama from Brazil, set the inter- IFFI 2025 made its message clear:
act and more like a cinematic state- novation without dulling the craft. national tone for IFFI 2025, while re- Indian cinema is no longer confined
ment: India’s storytelling is vast, di- Goa Chief Minister Pramod inforcing Goa’s long-standing cultural by the frame. It spills into the streets,
verse, and very much alive. Sawant picked up the thread, but ties with the Lusophone world. draws crowds into the narrative,
At the formal ceremony, attended from a different angle. In his address, For veteran actor Anupam Kher, and turns an entire city into a living,
by stars such as Anupam Kher, Muzaf- he presented Goa as a state where IFFI 2025 carries personal signifi- breathing film set.
far Ali and Nandamuri Balakrishna, cinematic tradition and digital possi-
the mood was both celebratory and bility meet. “Goa stands ready with
reflective. The festival also honoured world-class infrastructure… Our sce-
Balakrishna for completing 50 years nic beauty draws filmmakers, but it is
in the entertainment industry — a our strong policy reforms that keep
milestone he used to spark a heartfelt them coming back,” he said. Sawant
debate about the future of filmmaking. pitched the state as the “Creative
Addressing the media on the side- Capital of India”, urging global film-
lines, Balakrishna voiced concern over makers to “come to Goa, tell your sto-
the “technical domination” he sees in ries, shoot your films.”
the industry today. “I have completed The ceremony then shifted into
50 years in the film industry… It is the a grand folk production, Bharat Ek
knowledge I have about movies, and Soor, presented by the Central Bu-
it’s the legacy I am taking,” he said. But reau of Communication, followed by
modern filmmaking, he argued, had the NFDC 50 Years’ Tableau. More
become too reliant on green screens than a hundred dancers performed
and digital shortcuts. “Nowadays they traditional routines, and over two

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