19th Kolkata Intl Film Festival flagged off

Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Shah Rukh Khan and Mithun Chakraborty came together on stage yesterday to join West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to inaugurate the 19th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) at the Netaji Indoor Stadium. Initially, Bachchan was accompanied by his wife Jaya Bachchan, Haasan, Mithun and Shah Rukh when he lit the ceremonial lamp. Also on stage then was the guest of honour Prosenjit Chatterjee. Among the distinguished guests who were also present included Sandip Ray, Bengali film actress Sabitri Chatterjee and Supriya Devi, Dipankar Dey and music director Dwijen Mukherjee. The ceremony concluded when Bachchan released the brochure of the fest. Actors of the regional film industry Dev and Koel Mallick felicitated Big B with an uttariya (scarf) and a metal-cast memento. The other luminaries were welcomed subsequently in a similar manner. Also seen in the star-studded audience were actors Konkona Sen Sharma, singer Usha Uthup, actor-filmmaker Aparna Sen and former Indian football captain P.K. Banerjee.