By Sucheta Roy
The 23rd Pune International Film Festival ( PIFF) was inaugurated on Thursday at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch in a grand ceremony. The festival is organised in collaboration with the Pune Film Foundation and the Maharashtra government and the festival will end on 20th February.
During the inauguration, the State Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar announced that the government will set up a Centre of Excellence for the film and entertainment industry in Mumbai’s Film City.
Ashish Shelkar, the State Cultural Affairs Minister, during his speech has said that “The Maharashtra government is a leader in the IT and film industry. He has also mentioned that the government has allotted 10 acres of land in Film City to establish a one-of-a-kind Centre of Excellence. The centre, AVGC ( Animation, Visual, Gaming and Comic), will bring a lot of global experts to teach and train the people in advanced technologies and developments in films and entertainment”
Several prominent figures from the entertainment industry attended the inaugural ceremony, including Vikas Kharde, Principal Secretary, cultural affairs; Swati Mhase Patil, MD, Film City; and filmmaker Shaji Karun. Famous playback singer Kavita Krishnamurthy and veteran actress Shubha Khote were also present at the event. Others included Dr. Jabbar Patel, director of PIFF; Ravi Gupta, secretary, Pune Film Foundation; Samar Nakhate, creative director of PIFF; Abhijeet Randive, member , PIFF selection committee and Dr. Mohan Agashe, trustee, PIFF. The event was hosted by Shreya Bugade and Kshirish Date and started with the PIFF catalogue revelation ceremony.
This year the festival’s theme is, ‘celebrating the showman’, which marks the 100th birth anniversary of Raj Kapoor. The veteran actress Shubha Khote was honoured with the PIFF Distinguished Award for her incredible contribution to Indian cinema, she expressed her gratitude and shared her journey in cinema, reflecting on how she transitioned into the comedy genre instead of becoming a lead actress. The prestigious SD Burman International Award for creative music and sound was received by singer Kavita Krishnamurthy and after receiving the award she expressed her heartfelt gratitude towards her mentors and colleagues, and then she performed her famous song “Pyar Hua Chupke Se”.
At the event, Dr. Jabbar Patel spoke about the festival’s huge scope and gave tribute to Raj Kapoor. “This year, PIFF will pay homage to the greatest showman of Indian cinema, Raj Kapoor. He added that they have received 1,500 film entries, out of which 150 films from 81 countries have been selected for the screening. He further spoke about the categories that the festival has , such as world Competition, Marathi Competition, Global Cinema, Marathi Cinema and Indian Cinema”. He has also expressed his concerns on the State of Marathi cinema, he said that “Marathi cinema is facing challenges due to the rise of OTT platforms. This is an issue that will be discussed during the festival”.