Panaji: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was all praise for India’s tradition of storytelling as the 48th edition of the International Film Festival of India was kicked off here in a colorful ceremony.
Shah Rukh said films are symbol of love and filmmaking was about loving. However, in a lighter note, he made it clear that he was not referring to the love stories that he had been peddling for years.
“Cinema came around 150 years ago, but in our great country of India the tradition of stories has been around for thousands of years… We are truly a land of stories, fables, of cultural history, religious history, mythology and legends,” he said in his short yet eloquent speech.
“Stories have mesmerized us, stories that make us think, stories that make us believe, give us hope and inspire our future generations to their future and larger potential. Tonight it feels absolutely wonderful to be surrounded by the story tellers of the world, at the birth place of stories, that is India,” he said.
“I truly believe that films are made with the collaboration of hundreds of people coming together, working relentlessly for an idea they believe in and they love and they want to share it with the world. This idea becomes the film which we all watch, and sometimes we feel very happy watching it. Sometimes we dance along with the film. At other times we get angry disturbed, or agitated. That exactly is the magic of storytelling, a magic which has the power to touch all our senses and in doing so, actually binding us together,” he said.
Invoking the Sanskrit saying “Vasudhaiva Kudumbakam”, Shah Rukh said, “I believe no matter what your language is, no matter what country your story comes from, and no matter what your ideology is, storytelling and listening should be a familial experience which binds us together.”
The festival was inaugurated in the presence of I &B minister Smriti Irani, Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, actress Sridevi, head of the competition's international jury Muzaffar Ali, A R Rahman and eminent Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi among others.
Celebrated Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi's latest film Beyond The Clouds was screened as the opening film.
Addressing the gathering, Irani said that India is a land of festivals, celebrations, dynamic youth and stories, where stories are told in over 1600 dialects.
She said that the festival will help the film lovers to meet the biggest and brightest names of Indian film industry.
The inaugural ceremony also witnessed some mesmerizing audio visual performances like ‘Drums of India’, a musical treat with drums from all across the country and ‘Utsav’, a visual spectacle showcasing diversity of Indian culture.
Bollywood actors Rajkumar Rao and Radhika Apte compered the event which included a musical homage to the film personalities who passed away last year.
Read: Latest IFFI news | Shah Rukh to open 48th IFFI as Goa welcomes film buffs