Pics: Karan Johar and Akshay Kumar Add to the Glam at IFFI 2018

Rajyavardhan Rathore and Akshay Kumar talk to the media at IFFI 2018. 

(Photo courtesy: Twitter)

A galaxy of stars and directors such as Akshay Kumar and Karan Johar descended on the red carpet of the 49th edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

Karan Johar: “Which actor would you like to portray your role in your biopic?” Rajyavardhan Rathore: “I don’t know which actor can portray me but I would definitely have Karan Johar direct the film.”

The opening ceremony featured The Aspern Papers director Julien Landais, singer Arijit Singh, directors Ramesh Sippy, Madhur Bhandarkar and Singaporean American actor Chin Han.

Karan Johar and Akshay  Kumar interact with the media. 

Karan Johar with Mandira Bedi.

Karan Johar with Rajyavardhan Rathore and Akshay Kumar. 

Karan Johar interacts with Rajyavardhan Rathore and Akshay Kumar at IFFI 2018. 

Sonu Sood performs. 

A moment from the festival. 

The opening ceremony, graced by Governor of Goa, Mridula Sinha; Union minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Col Rajyavardhan Rathore; PWD minister Sudin Madhav Dhavalikar; and Chairperson, Film Certification Appellate Tribunal, Prasoon Joshi, also included performances by mainstream Bollywood artistes like Sonu Sood and Shilpa Rao.

The festival’s many ‘In-conversation’ sessions will be quite the ‘film family affair’ with Anil Kapoor and Rhea; Boney, Arjun and Janhvi Kapoor; David and Varun Dhawan and from south, the Daggubatis -- Rana, his uncle Venkatesh and father Suresh Babu sharing the stage.

Apart from the star families, the outsiders will also get the space to shine at the sessions. The names include Kriti Sanon, Diana Penty, Rakul Preet Singh, Chitrangada Singh, Jim Sarbh, Rahul Bose, Pankaj Tripathi, Nila Madhab Panda, Rajshri Deshpande and Divya Dutta. Female directors Meghna Gulzar, Leena Yadav and Gauri Shinde will hold an In-conversation session and so will CBFC chairman-lyricist Prasoon Joshi, along with Arijit, who is bringing his directorial debut "Sa" to the festival, and Shoojit Sircar, whose film October will be screened as part of Indian Panorama.

Varun Dhawan and Banita Sandhu in a still from the trailer of October. (Photo Courtesy: Instagram)

The festival is celebrating the birth centenary year of Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman with Wild At Heart, Master At Craft - in-conversation session that will be moderated by Sunit Tandon and feature Mikael Timm, Jannike Ahlund and Ulrika Rindegard, all three closely associated with the great filmmaker. The festival will also showcase seven best films of Bergman, including "Wild Strawberries".

Israel is the country focus this year and filmmaker Dan Wolman will introduce the audiences to their cinema with a masterclass. He is also this year's Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.

Jharkhand is the state in focus this year and films such as A Death in the Gunj, Ranchi Diaries and Panchlet that are based in the region. There is also a window for film lovers to get acquainted with Tunisian cinema with an In-Conversation session by Tunisian Ambassador and filmmaker Nacer Khemir.

Vikrant Massey and Kalki Koechlin in A Death In the Gunj. (Photo courtesy: Youtube/TIFF Trailers)

Director Sriram Raghavan will decode the mystery behind a good thriller with "A Bromantic thriller" with his screenwriter brother Shridhar Raghavan. "Homages" segment will pay tributes to film personalities such as Shashi Kapoor, Sridevi, M Karunanidhi and Kalpana Lajmi, who passed away in the year gone by.

This edition of the festival will showcase 212 films from over 68 countries. International Competition section has 15 films out of which 3 are Indian.

A special package for visually impaired children will be organised with special screenings with audio description. The festival will showcase the movies Sholay and Hichki under this section. The festival begins ends November 28. The show will witness the launch of the Film Facilitation Office, an initiative by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

(Inputs: PTI)