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IFFI 2016: Mother India to Mary Kom, celebrating women’s journey in our films
The opening ceremony of IFFI 2016 was a gala affair with a special presentation dedicated to women in Indian Cinema called Ode to a Woman. Bollywood was represented by Sushant Singh Rajput and Ramesh Sippy.
This year’s edition of the International Film Festival of India opened Sunday evening with a breathtaking sequence celebrating the journey and contribution of women in Indian Cinema.
The presentation was headlined with a special ‘Ode to a Woman’ performance, which showcased the changing face of women in Indian films from the 50s till date.
Choreographed by Ganesh Acharya, the act traced the journey from Mother India to Mary Kom -- the diiferent facets of female characters in Indian cinema and their evolution onscreen. A montage showcased stars such as Waheeda Rehman, Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Vidya Balan, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone among others.
The montage was interspersed with colourful and energetic performances by Ganesh’s troupe of dancers who performed to various songs portraying the woman from a humble lady to an angry woman ready to take on the world and the determined, self-sufficient and confident modern-day woman.
Sushant Singh Rajput and veteran filmmaker Ramesh Sippy lit the lamp along with defence minister Manohar Parrikar, Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar, Goa governor Mridula Sinha among others. From the film industry, Divya Dutta, Nagesh Kukunoor, Nana Patekar, Sudhir Mishra, Mukesh among others were present. Suhasini Maniratnam and Surveen Chawla hosted the event.
From Monday, the festival is open to all film enthusiasts who can book tickets and watch films from a wide range of new and old classics being shown across seven screens in Panaji, Goa.
