The 20th Kolkata International Film Festival, India's second oldest movie fest, was today inaugurated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and movie icon Amitabh Bachchan at a gala ceremony here.
Apart from Bachchan, the event was also attended by actress Vidya Balan and yesteryear stars Sharmila Tagore, Jaya Bachchan and Mousumi Chatterjee.
The jam-packed Netaji Indoor Stadium watched the screen giants raise a toast to the cinema.
The tune of the magical evening was set by fusion music and classical music performed by percussionist Bickram Ghosh, classical music vocalist Rashid Khan and singer Indranil Sen.
"The Indian cinema from its beginning has taught us the lessons of finding love, justice and social unity. And most importantly the banishment of communal prejudices and hatred," Bachchan said.
Presenting a comprehensive history of Indian cinema from the age of silent films to the present day, Bachchan sang versus from Rabindranath Tagore's poems, and said these lines stressed the core Indian values of diversity and equality "at a time when cultures are being questioned and prejudices against communities are diving the world."
Balan spoke on how focus has been put on women power in this film festival.
"The competition focuses on women directors and I think this is the time of women power and goddess power and what could be better place than Kolkata to start this."
Tagore, who is heading the jury which will select the best film and director from among 14 short-listed entries by women filmmakers, also endorsed Balan's views and felt that monetary incentive would give additional encouragement.
The chief minister in her speech invited Bollywood to shoot in West Bengal also spoke up against intolerance.
