The 27th Kolkata International Film Festival is “temporarily postponed”.
The state government announced the decision on Wednesday around 4.30pm, a day after holding a physical news conference at Sisir Mancha where details of the week-long festival, set to start from Friday, were given out. Delegate cards were also distributed among cine lovers, who had applied for registrations.
The trigger, it is said, was festival committee member Parambrata Chattopadhyay being detected Covid positive on Wednesday. The actor announced the news on Twitter around 3.30pm. “Had mild symptoms in Mumbai on the 27th, but had tested negative. Returned to kolkata on the 30th. Became completely symptom-free by 2nd, but got a routine test done anyway day before, results came now and it’s positive. Will test again in three days,” he tweeted, requesting everyone who had come in contact with him in the past few days to get tested.
That would include the entire film festival committee as Chattopdhyay was present in the news conference, seated between minister of state for culture and festival co-chief adviser Indranil Sen and actress Sayantika Banerjee. Festival chairman Raj Chakrabarty and his wife Subhashree had also tested positive.