Netaji Stadium decks up for 22nd Kolkata International Film Festival

The countdown for the inauguration of the 22nd Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) has begun, with a galaxy of stars including Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan expected to light up the opening ceremony.

Hundreds of people from different parts of the state will make a beeline for the Netaji Indoor Stadium on Friday afternoon to witness the inauguration of the week-long film festival, which will be presided over by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

After starting her second term, Banerjee took the initiative of making the film festival grow in stature. Jaya Bachchan, who has attended previous editions of KIFF, will be a special guest this time too. The festival will also host Bollywood actors Sanjay Dutt and Kajol, who will be Guests of Honour at Friday’s programme.

The programme will begin with a performance by Pandit Tanmoy Bose and his group and FIMA at 5 pm. It will be followed by the inauguration ceremony.

155 films from 65 countries will be screened across 105 screens at 13 venues in Kolkata. A Bengali film ‘The Song of Life’ will kick off proceedings at the cine fiesta. This is the first time that a Bengali movie has been selected as the opening film.

The entire stadium has been decorated with large banners and a novel look has been given to the stadium’s main entrance. 

Similarly, the main gate of the Nandan cinema hall, where many films will be screened, has been given a modern look. 

The installation of new gates was completed on a war footing.

Security has been tightened in and around the Netaji Indoor Stadium to avoid any untoward incident during the programme. 

Additional policemen have been deployed since Thursday. Bomb disposal unit and dog squad of the Kolkata Police were seen carrying frisking operation in and around the stadium.