Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 21, 2017)

The luxurious restaurant of a North Goa five-star buzzed with activity as delegates of the 2017 International Film Festival of India (IFFI) filed in to network and binge on the local delicacy of fish curry and rice. 'Showman' Subhash Ghai regaled veteran journalists with tales from his films, Hero and Karz, that had previously been the opening films at IFFI, while FTII chairperson Anupam Kher's brunch was briefly interrupted with selfie requests from two young fans. Filmmakers Vishal Bhardwaj and Nagesh Kukunoor, and cinematographer Sameer Arya discussed the opening film of this year — Majid Majidi's Beyond The Clouds — which marks the acting debut of Shahid Kapoor's younger brother, Ishaan Khatter.

Ahead of the inaugural ceremony, the youngster walked the red carpet in an eye-catching blue kurta, while Shahid, who'd suited up, was accompanied by his entourage. Sridevi chose the back exit for her arrival with producer-husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Janhvi, who is gearing up for her own acting debut, incidentally opposite Ishaan in Karan Johar's Dhadak.

A senior filmmaker told Mirror, "Deepika Padukone had confirmed her presence at the festival but was asked not to attend in light of the threats to her life as well as the growing controversy surrounding the film." Her Padmavati co-star Shahid Kapoor, who plays Raja Rawal Ratan Singh in the film, when asked about the fate of the Sanjay Leela Bhansali period-drama, said, "I believe that the film will release. I believe that this process is difficult but I went through a similar process with Udta Punjab. I eventually saw the film come out and I saw the film being loved and celebrated. So till I am disappointed, I will choose to be optimistic."

Former Goa CM Manohar Parikkar was among other eminent attendees, as well as Nana Patekar. Between 3-4 pm, over 100 cars left for the Panjim Stadium, the venue for the opening ceremony. Bareilly Ki Barfi director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and husband, writer-filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari, new jury chief of the Panorama feature section Rahul Rawail, Chef director Raja Krishna Menon, actor Sharad Kelkar and filmmaker Siddharth Roy Kapur were escorted to the front row. Information & Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani arrived with husband Zubin and headed straight to the back rows to greet the other filmmakers. Before the ceremony kicked off, she had a long conversation with Siddharth and adman Piyush Pandey.

The star presence was not limited to the red carpet, with the venue marked with large screens playing messages from Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, Karan Johar, Akshay Kumar, Huma Qureshi, among others who couldn't make it.

The opening performance, themed "Drums of India" featuring aerial acts, live music and over 40 dancers, set the tone for the evening, as well as the surprise entry by Shah Rukh Khan who kicked off the evening with an introductory speech on 150 years of cinema. A R Rahman and Central Board of Film Certification chairperson Prasoon Joshi arrived quietly and took their seats in the back rows.

SRK soon made way for the hosts of the evening, actors Radhika Apte and Rajkummar Rao. "Rajkummar took the phrase 'break a leg' a little too seriously. But what a brilliant performance in Newton!" SRK quipped, alluding to an accident the younger actor had recently suffered.

The year's jury, including Maxime Williamson (Brisbane International Jury), Israeli actor Tzahi Grad, two-time Oscar-winning Star Wars actor Roger Christian and Vladistav Opeylants, were felicitated. International jury chairman Muzzafar Ali said, "I've been a part of IFFI since the seventh edition and India is lucky to be showcasing 15 seminal works from across the globe." This year, the fest's 48th edition will also feature the 'Country Focus' segment, that has eight Canadian films curated by Cameron Bailey, Director of the Toronto International Film Festival.

In an opera performance, Goan musician Sonia paid a tribute to members of the fraternity who passed away this year, including J Jayalalithaa, Lekh Tandon, Mukesh Rawal, Om Puri, Cho Ramaswamy, Ram Mukherjee, Reema Lagoo, Ramananda Sengupta, Tom Alter, Vinod Khanna, Inder Kumar, as well as technicians, with a video.

'Utsav', the second performance of the evening, saw Kathakali and Bharatanatyam dancers representing dance forms from all Indian states. Off stage, Majidi hugged 'legend' Rahman. "Iran loves Rahman. This is my second collaboration with him and his work is something to look forward to," the feted Iranian filmmaker beamed. Rahman noted, "It feels extraordinary to stand next to Majid Majidi. We both have received a lot of fatwas and it feels like a privilege nonetheless." Majidi responded with a chuckle.

Shahid joined Rajkummar on stage and the duo recalled bumping into each other at the gym recently. "I did a film called R Rajkummar and Raj did a film called Shahid. But Rajkummar's performance in the film titled after my name was far better," the former noted.

In her closing address, the I&B minister, who had, earlier in the evening, cheered on Rajkummar's film Newton, made a special note of the actor's "terrible" joke on Iranis at the festival. Raj had remarked that Iranians are so keen to be at the fest because "our favourite minister is an Irani". Co-host Radhika had called it a "terrible joke" but it struck a chord with Irani. "Rajkummar Rao should be lauded as he cracked one joke and it was directed at a minister. This only goes to show how tolerant our government is. Now, no one can say that BJP walon ne ek actor ki taang tod di!" Irani said, which drew laughter from the audience.