Oscar-winning filmmaker Ang Lee's Indian story "Life of Pi" is making its Asian premiere by opening the festival while Mira Nair's "Reluctant Fundamentalist" will be the closing film.
Bollyood singer Kailash Kher and a dance troupe choreographed by Saroj Khan will be performing at the opening ceremony of the 11-day-long festival, which will be followed by the screening of "Life of Pi" in 3D. The Hollywood movie, which marks the debut of Delhi boy Suraj Sharma as Pi, is a major attraction at IFFI.
Though Lee won't be present himself, the film's cast Tabu and Irffan Khan will be walking the red carpet at the premiere.
"The Reluctant Fundamentalist", a book adaptation of Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid's celebrated novel of the same name, is coming to IFFI after making a buzz in international film circuits. The film stars Liev Schreiber, Kate Hudson, Riz Ahmed and Kiefer Sutherland.
When asked whether the cast of the movie will attend the festival, IFFI director Shankar Mohan said, "We are not sure about that. It is on Mira who she can get along. These actors are very busy and have prior contracts. So we cannot name who will come."
The festival is celebrating 100 years of cinema with a special centenary package this year which will feature 27 films, 36 documentaries covering all the eras of cinema from black and white, silent to coloured.
"We are not representing Indian cinema but trying to celebrate it. It is very difficult to portray 100 years in a small package so we have tried to represent it as authentically as possible. To get these old movies is very difficult so we were dependent on National Film Archives of India and Films Division," Mohan said. (MORE)
