Basic HTML Version

|  | Table of Contents |  | View Full Version

Page 38 - The Indian EYE 112825
P. 38

    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

                                                                   www.TheIndianEYE.com

| 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 |