A star-studded lamp-lighting ceremony in progress at the inauguration of the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Thursday. (From left) Former BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, playback singer Kumar Sanu, veteran actor and TMC MP Shatrughan Sinha, West Bengal Governor, CV Ananda Bose, iconic actor Amitabh Bachchan, actor Shahrukh Khan and actor Rukmini Maitra. This year, as part of KIFF, 183 films, including 130 feature films and 52 short and documentary films from 42 countries will be screened for eight days till December 22. The films will be screened across 10 cinemas like Nandan 1, Nandan 2, Nandan 3, Rabindra Sadan, Sirir Mancha, Paschim Banga Bangla Akademi Sabhaghar, Radha Studio, Rabindra Okakura Bhavan, Nazrul Tirtha 1 and Nazrul Tirtha 2
All images by Amit DattaShah Rukh Khan receives a KIFF souvenir from chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The 28th KIFF will pay special tribute to iconic filmmaker Tarun Majumdar, veteran actor Pradip Mukherjee, classical musician Shivkumar Sharma and American actor Angela Lansbury. French film director and screenwriter Alain Resnais, Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini, Greek film actor and director Michael Cacoyannis, iconic actor Dilip Kumar, film directors Asit Sen, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, K Asif and Bengali Hindustani classical musician, Ali Akbar Khan, will be given centenary tribute
Danseuse Dona Ganguly presents a captivating Odissi performance at the event. Seven films, including Soumitra Chatterjee's ‘Koni’; ‘MS Dhoni: The Untold Story’; '’83'; will be screened to celebrate youth and spirit in the society and promote sports
West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, gives a hearty welcome to Jaya Bachchan
The Bachchan couple after the inauguration
Shah Rukh Khan greets the Bachchan couple at the event. Capture-worthy star interactions marked the inauguration
King Khan receives a memento from actor Subhashree Ganguly
Tollywood actor and TMC MP, Dev Adhikari, greets Amitabh Bachchan during the inauguration
Bengali youth icons Sourav Ganguly and Arijit Singh engage in a warm embrace
King Khan and Bengal’s ‘Dada’ exchange greetings
Singer Arijit Singh and director-turned-politician Raj Chakroborty engage in a conversation with chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Actor June Malia (in the background) was the host of the event. The closing ceremony will be held at Rabindra Sadan on December 22