Kolkata film fest's star galaxy to include Amitabh, Shah Rukh

Kolkata: Starting from participation of eminent film-makers of foreign countries to giving a platform to films made in rare languages in India, the Kolkata International Film Festival 2017 will be one seven-day long gala event which will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on November 10 in the presence of stars of Indian cinema including Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kamal Hasan, Kajol, Kumar Sanu, Mahesh Bhatt and British film director Michael Winterbottom.

The state government has taken all initiatives to highlight the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) as a tourist attraction in Bengal. At the same time, directors and producers from across the globe will be taken to different shooting spots in the state for its promotion.

The 23rd KIFF with United Kingdom as the focus country will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has taken the festival to a new level of popularity. With steps being taken by her government, the festival didn't remain within the boundaries of Nandan and common people of Bengal have also become a part of it.

The state Youth Services and Sports department, Aroop Biswas, who is also the co-chairman of the KIFF-2017, said: "Film directors and producers from all across the globe will come to the city during the film festival. There are many shooting spots in Bengal. We will give detailed information about the places and try to take them to the spots. We have all required infrastructure including world class studios and there are also many experts and experienced technicians in the city as well. We will approach them so that shooting for movies from all across the globe can take place in Bengal."

Indranil Sen, Minister of State for the Information and Cultural Affairs (I and CA) department, said: "The Red Road Immersion Carnival and the state's achievement in successfully organising the FIFA Under-17 Football World Cup have been projected well across the globe. This comes at the time when following the direction of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a proper coordination between I and CA department and Tourism department is going on keeping cultural tourism in mind. This year several journalists and foreign tourists are coming to the film festival and from the next year, it will be a tourism destination for Bengal where people from all across the globe will come."

Veteran actors Sabitri Chattopadhyay who is the Chairperson of KIFF 2017 appreciated the move taken by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in giving respect to artistes that they hardly used to get earlier. It may be mentioned that the initiatives will help in attracting more tourists in Bengal from abroad.

The initiative to take eminent film directors and producers to studios and shooting spots in the state will also help in the state's promotion in the sector of film industry. Bruce Bucknell, the British Deputy High Commissioner, Kolkata lauded the Mamata Banerjee-government for taking various steps to promote the culture and tradition of the region.

He talked about the recently-held Red Road Immersion Carnival and also appreciated the craze for football that has been celebrated during the FIFA Under-17 World Cup tournaments.