Our Bureau
Panaji (Goa)
Joining the national and international celebrations of the 125th birth anniversary year of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the 51st International Film Festival of India on Saturday organised a special screening of the Shyam Benegal directorial ‘Netaji Subas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero.’
The screening was organised at the venue of the festival which is being organised at Panjim, Goa. According to a release by Press Information Bureau (PIB), the festival delegates will get to relive and get inspired afresh from Benegal’s gripping portrayal of the valour and fortitude shown by Netaji in the national freedom struggle.
The 220-minute Hindi epic war biographical war film depicts Netaji’s life in Nazi Germany during 1941-1943, in Japanese-occupied Asia during 1943-1945, and the events leading to the formation of Azad Hind Fauj. It also includes his life’s story in flashback sequences.
Screening of The Forgotten Hero at IFFI comes at a very apposite moment, on a day when the Government of India begins the celebration of Netaji’s 125th Birth Anniversary Year.
‘Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero,’ has actor and director Sachin Khedekar in the lead role, playing Netaji. The film has received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration for the year 2005.
Late actor Irrfan Khan, who became a household name after portraying diverse roles with perfection, was also honoured during the 51st International Film Festival of India (IFFI). The film festival paid homage to the late star by screening his cult classic ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ on Friday. Indian film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared the news on his Twitter handle.
An evergreen actor with an impressive array of roles under his belt, Irrfan breathed his last on April 29, 2020, after battling rare cancer. Apart from the ‘Piku’ actor, the event will reportedly also pay tribute to actors like Sushant Singh Rajput, Rishi Kapoor, Soumitra Chatterjee and Chadwick Boseman by screening their movies, ‘Kedarnath’, ‘Bobby’, ‘Charulata’ and ’42’, respectively.
The nine-day film festival will also feature various remarkable movies directed by renowned filmmakers worldwide. As per reports, it will begin by honouring 28 prominent artists who passed away in 2020.
The 51st version of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), also honoured veteran actor, producer, director, and vocalist of Hindi and Bengali film, Biswajit Chatterjee with the Indian Personality of the Year Award on Saturday.
An official statement by Press Information Bureau (PIB), confirmed the news on Twitter which read, ” Veteran Actor and Director Biswajit Chatterjee has been conferred Indian Personality of the Year Award, announces Union Minister, @MIB_India, @PrakashJavdekar #IFFI51 Opening Ceremony.”
Born in 1936, Biswajit Chatterjee is an Indian actor who is famous for his roles of Kumar Vijay Singh in 1962 thriller movie ‘Bees Saal Baad’, Raja Amit Kumar Singh in 1964 musical drama ‘Kohraa’, Ashok in 1964’s romantic flick ‘April Fool’, Ramesh Kumar in 1965’s ‘Mere Sanam’, Jeevan in 1967’s Mala Sinha co-starrer thriller film ‘Night In London’, Shekhar in 1968’s iconic flick ‘Do Kaliyaan’ and Vicky in 1968’s action flick ‘Kismat’.
He usually co-starred with notable actresses such as Asha Parekh, Waheeda Rehman, Mumtaz, Mala Sinha and Rajshree. Some of his Bengali films include ‘Chowringhee’ (1968) and ‘Garh Nasimpur’ with Uttam Kumar, ‘Srimaan Prithviraj’ (1973), ‘Jai Baba Taraknath’ (1977) and ‘Amar Geeti’ (1983). In 1975, Chatterjee produced and directed his own film, ‘Kahte Hai Mujhko Raja’.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a statement that for the first time, IFFI is being held in a hybrid mode because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event has celebrated film directors Pablo Cesar (Argentina), Prasanna Vithanage (Sri Lanka), Abu Bakr Shawky (Austria), Priyadarshan (India), and Rubaiyat Hossain (Bangladesh), who are also the Jury members of the festival.
The opening of the NFDC Film Bazar will also be virtually inaugurated on the occasion. A selection of 23 feature and 20 non-feature films will be showcased in the Indian Panorama section of the 51st IFFI. Goan movies will be screened under a special Goan section. This apart, 15 acclaimed films will compete for the Golden Peacock award at IFFI’s International Competition section.
