Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; January 16, 2021)

The 51st edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will pay homage to 19 Indian film personalities and nine international personalities, who we lost last year, for their contribution to cinema with the screening of their films. The number of films in the homage section is the highest in recent years – last year, IFFI paid tribute to 13 Indian personalities.

An IFFI official says, “Unfortunately, last year we lost many geniuses from the world of cinema. We have curated the homage section to pay tribute to these geniuses, who immensely contributed to cinema. IFFI acknowledges their work, and we have planned a screening of their films.”

Among the films that will be screened are Irrfan’s Paan Singh Tomar, Rishi Kapoor’s Bobby and Sushant Singh Rajput’s Kedarnath. These will have physical screenings in Goa. Sushant’s Chhichhore will also be screened at IFFI, in the Indian Panorama section.

Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, who won India’s first Oscar in 1983 for Gandhi, will be honoured with a screening of the film. Rahat Indori, who wrote Bumbro for Mission Kashmir, will be honoured with screening of the same film. Devdas will be screened to pay tribute to Saroj Khan.

INTERNATIONAL ARTISTES WILL BE REMEMBERED WITH THESE FILMS
Chadwick Boseman (right) – 42
Ivan Passer – Cutter’s Way
Goran Paskaljevic – Dev Bhoomi
Allen Daviau – The Extra-Terrestrial
Max Von Sydow – Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Sir Alan Parker – Midnight Express
Kirk Douglas – Paths Of Glory
Ennio Morricone – The Hateful Eight
Olivia De Havilland – The Heiress


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A retrospective of Satyajit Ray films at IFFI

This year, IFFI has organised a retrospective on Satyajit Ray — Classics of the Maestro, which will give cinephiles an opportunity to watch some of the works of Satyajit Ray in Goa from January 16-24. Five films which have been selected for the retrospective are Charulata (1964), Ghaire Baire (1984) Pather Panchali (1955), Sonar Kella (1974), Shatranj ke Khilari (1977). The opening film of the retrospective is Pather Panchali. The film revolves around the child protagonist Apu in 1920s Bengal. It is based on a Bengali novel of the same name, which was written by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay. Pather Panchali won several international awards, including the Best Human Document at Cannes in 1956. Satyajit Ray was born on May 2, 1921 in Kolkata, and as part of centenary celebrations, these films have been selected.

The 51st edition of IFFI was rescheduled from November to this January.