MAMI gets going with Sridevi lighting inaugural lamp

Amid much fanfare, the 14th Mumbai Film Festival, presented by Reliance Entertainment and American Express got off to a grand opening with Sridevi lighting the inaugural lamp along with Shyam Benegal, Chairman and Trustees of Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI). The opening function also saw the introduction and felicitation of the jury members of International Competition, India Gold 2012, Celebrate Age and Dimensions Mumbai. “We look forward to another year of bringing superlative global cinema to our patrons and promoting budding talent at the festival,” commented Festival Director, 14th Mumbai Film Festival Srinivasan Narayanan. The function continued with Anil Kapoor calling on stage Anupam Kher, whose critically acclaimed comedy-drama Silver Linings Playbook kick started the eight-day long festival. The film is directed by David O Russell and stars Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro. Speaking on the occasion Anupam Kher said, “I have always endeavoured to make films with passion and I am glad to have been provided with an opportunity to work with such amazing co-actors.” Chief initiator of the festival, Tina Ambani conferred acclaimed director, producer, writer and actor from the People’s Republic of China Zhang Yimou the Lifetime achievement Award for Foreign Film Personalities. “The 14th Mumbai Festival is an initiative truly close to my heart and a very special connection to my cinematic roots,” she observed. The opening day function’s red carpet and movie screening witnessed a host of film artistes, filmmakers, renowned litterateurs and cinephiles including Jaya Bachchan, Manisha Koirala, Leander Paes, Shobhaa & Dilip De, Ila Arun, Kirron Kher, Rahul Bose, Ranvir Shorey, Milind Soman, Shahana Goswami, R. Balki with wife and filmmaker Gauri Shinde, Pritish Nandy, Sridhar Raghavan, Sanjay and Ambika Suri,Dibakar Banerjee and Hansal Mehta among others. All in all, the first day of the 14th Mumbai Film Festival set pace for the week-long cinematic extravaganza that promises to feature the finest works of cinematic genius from a lineup of over 200 films.