Delighted to attend the opening of the 20th Kolkata International Film festival (KIFF) here, actor Irrfan Khan hoped the event would encourage youngsters to narrate stories they believe in, help them find their own voice and engage a global audience through their craft.
Boasting of a rich oeuvre of 137 films from 60 countries, the fest will see 40 international delegates and 15 segments. There will be 31 Indian films, including 13 Bengali films. It concludes Nov 17.
"I hope this film festival becomes the biggest film fest of the world. I hope this film festival could inspire the upcoming generation which could find their own voice... which could find courage to tell their own stories because you must have noticed the kind of music which we were listening... as Satyajit Ray's film music came... something happened to all of us," he said.
The actor is in the city to shoot for Shoojit Sircar's "Piku" alongwith megastar Amitabh Bachchan and actress Deepika Padukone.
"I hope it inspires them... who could engage the universal audience... mainstream universal audience," he added.