KALYANI JHA | NT BUZZ
Vietnamese film ‘Skin of Youth’, a powerful tale of transgender identity, love, and resilience, directed by Ashleigh Mayfair clinched the Golden Peacock for Best Feature Film at the 56th edition of the International Film Festival of India.
The awards for the film fest were declared at a glittering closing ceremony held at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium, Bambolim, in the presence of minister of state for information and broadcasting and parliamentary affairs, Government of India L. Muguran and Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant. The event was graced by Bollywood icons like Ranveer Singh, Rishab Shetty, Rajnikanth, Ramesh Sippy, Ravi Kishan, Shekhar Kapur, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui and also international film personalities.
In his address, Sawant stated, “Each passing IFFI reinforces Goa’s identity as the land of celebrations, art, culture and cinematic talent. And this year has been with no exceptions.”
He added that the vision for Goa is to make it a hub for filmmaking and mentoring young artistes. “We want Goa to remain the welcoming home for the storytellers from across the world where the ideas can flourish and artistic exchange can thrive.”
Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcast Sanjay Jaju said that the film has been a success both in quality and quantity wise with the Film Bazaar bringing in record investments. “It was also the first time that we hosted the AI Hackathon while the Creative Minds of Tomorrow had close to 125 participants,” he said.
Murugan meanwhile mentioned the unique opening of this year’s IFFI with a parade of tableaus from different states which added a new flavour to
this festival.
This year, the film festival also paid tribute to icons like Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla, Ritwik Ghatak, Bhupen Hazarika, P. Bhanumati, Salil Choudhury, and K. Vaikunth. One of the most awaited moments of the event however was the felicitation of Rajinikanth for 50 years of excellence in Indian Cinema.
Ever humble, Rajinikanth thanked the central government for this honour. “Looking back at these 50 years, to me it seems more like just 10-15 years. Time just flew by because I love cinema and acting. In fact even if I am born again, a 100 times, I would like to be born as an actor and as Rajnikanth.”
Commemorating 125 years of V. Shantaram, Kiran Shantaram was felicitated on IFFI stage. A yakshagana dance was performed by folk artiste Vidya Kolyur and her team, who also later felicitated actor Rishab Shetty for his latest film ‘Kantara Chapter 2’ naming him ‘King of Karnataka’.
The closing ceremony witnessed glimpses of some upcoming films and web series like ‘Dhurandhar, ‘Akhiri Sach’. and ‘Mamla Legal Hai’ season 2.
Co- hosted by Tisca Chopra and Jay Bhanushali, the evening also focused on inclusivity with the whole show live interpreted in sign language. A Ganesh vandana and Shiv Tandava by Miracles on Wheels also impressed.
Acyuta Gopi along with the Bhakti brothers filled the air with chants of ‘Hare Krishna Mahamantra’, which was followed by folk music of Manganiyar community from Rajasthan whose musical performance brought the curtains down on the closing ceremony.
