Priyanka Chopra, Kamal Haasan attend star-studded opening of Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival

PTI, Oct 28, 2023, 1:17 PM IST

The Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023 kick-started with an opening ceremony that was attended by major cine personalities, including Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam and Priyanka Chopra Jonas.

The 10-day film gala has returned with its first on-ground edition after a gap of three years. It commenced with the ceremony, held at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) with filmmakers Karan Johar, Hansal Mehta, Vishal Bhardwaj and wife Rekha Bhardwaj, Zoya Akhtar and producer Ektaa R Kapoor, also in attendance.

Actors Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Rajkumar Rao with wife Patralekha, Bhumi Pednekar, Sonam Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, Babil Khan, Arjun Rampal, among others, marked their presence at the festival as well.

Chopra Jonas, who is the chairperson of the film gala’s current edition, expressed her excitement to kick-start the festival.

“Welcome to Jio Mami Film Festival where cinema is not just an art form but a way of life,” the actor said.

Kareena-starrer “The Buckingham Murders”, directed by Hansal Mehta, served as the opening film of the festival.

At the ceremony, renowned directors Mani Ratnam and Luca Guadagnino were honoured with the Excellence in Cinema Award for their outstanding and long-lasting contribution to the world of cinema. Haasan and Chopra Jonas presented the awards to the two cinema stalwarts.

Bhumi Pednekar, the brand ambassador for Dimensions Mumbai – a short film competition on the theme of Mumbai City for filmmakers across India, presented the awards to the winners along with the jury members Shahana Goswani, Anvitaa Dutt and Shriya Pilgaonkar.

Dimensions Mumbai Gold award went to “Nightingales in the Cocoon” by Praveen Giri, while Dimensions Mumbai Silver award was won by “Halfway” by Kumar Chheda.

Sonam Kapoor, the brand ambassador for popular options market – Word To Screen, presented the Book on Cinema award to “Mahatma on Celluloid: A Cinematic Biography” by Prakash Magdum.

Aruna Vasudev, Nasreen Munni Kabir and Uma da Cunha received the Lifetime Achievement Awards, presented to them by Marco Muller, Karan Johar and Adoor Gopalakrishnan, respectively.

Actor Sobhita Dhulipala and filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra celebrated the winners for the Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films awards.

“Summer of Soul” by Sanjib Gogoi won the best film award with James elia of “Vakuppu” (The Clause) taking home the best actor trophy.

The festival will showcase over 250 films with a special focus on contemporary films and new cinematic voices from South Asia.

According to the organisers, the gala boasts of over 40 world premieres, 45 Asia premieres, 70 South Asia premieres, and 13 sections.

The 2023 line-up features big titles like Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Monster”, Bradley Cooper’s Oscar tipped “Maestro”, Anurag Kashayp’s “Kennedy”, and Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winning movie “Anatomy of a Fall”.

The Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival will conclude on November 5.