New Delhi: The curtains will rise on the 54th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on Monday evening at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Taleigao-Goa. The opening ceremony will be a star-studded affair with celebs like Shahid Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Pankaj Tripathi, Nushratt Bharucha along with singers Shreya Ghoshal and Sukhwinder Singh in attendance.
Over 250 films are set to be showcased across the various sections of the festival, which will be held at Shamaprasad Indoor Stadium, Panaji, Goa. After its opening, the ceremony will be hosted by Aparshakti Khurrana and Karishma Tanna.
Madhuri will be recreating a medley of her hit songs at the opening ceremony. Talking about her performance Madhuri told Hindustan Times, “Cinema has given me so much, it’s time to give something back in return. What better way to do so than through song and dance which is integral to not just Indian cinema, but Indian culture as well”.
Shahid will perform on his hit numbers. “Performing in front of a live audience is something I’ve truly loved ever since I can remember… Thanks to IFFI I get to do that one more time in Goa,” he was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
Actor Shreya Saran is all set to perform at the opening ceremony. Talking about the event, the ‘Gautamiputra Satakarni’ actress said: “Performing for a live audience is always exhilarating and always wonderful. I have shot for ‘Drishyam’ (Bollywood remake) in Goa, and it’s a beautiful place. IFFI is a very prestigious platform, so I am greatly honoured. But I cannot say much about the performance because it will take away the charm.”
The prestigious festival would be further graced by other dignitaries such as Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones, Salman Khan, Vidya Balan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Anupam Kher, Vicky Kaushal, Siddharth Malhotra, Aditi Rao Hydari, AR Rahman, Amit Trivedi, among others.