Shah Rukh Khan inaugurated the 25th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) at Netaji Stadium on Friday, 8 November. The actor lit the ceremonial lamp alongside yesteryear actor Rakhee Gulzar and Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee.
In her inaugural address, Banerjee introduced Shah Rukh as her “beloved brother”. “Amar priyo bhai Shah Rukh (My favourite brother Shah Rukh)... He has made a name for himself all over the world now. He still has no audacity, no pride. He loves human beings and humanity,” she said. In a video that has been doing the rounds on social media, she can be seen playfully chiding him when he asked for “chutti (leave)”. “If you do the chutti, I will do the katti (if you think of taking leave, I will not speak to you,” she said.
SRK also shared an adorable moment with his Baazigar mother Raakhee Gulzar. The actor tried to teach him to recite Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘O Amar Desher Mati’. Shah Rukh dutifully repeated each word but later jokingly confessed that he didn’t quite understand everything that he had said. “I have no idea what I have said. When I was doing 'Baazigar' with Rakheeji, and now... We've worked together in Baazigar. For me, it's just an excuse to stand close to the most beautiful woman in the world, so, thank you very much Rakhee ji,” he said.
Oscar-winning director Volker Schlondorff, Sex, Lies and Videotape actor Andie MacDowell and Slovak filmmaker Dusan Hanak also graced KIFF, alongside director Mahesh Bhatt and BCCI President and former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly.
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