The first day first show of the 26th Kolkata International Film Festival did not see a long queue in front of Nandan like every other year. But the audience, lacking in numbers, did not lack in enthusiasm.

“The queue usually reaches till the Nandan gate and then turns alongside Sisir Mancha building towards the Sisir Mancha gate. This year it did not reach anywhere close to even the Nandan gate,” said Parash Acharya, a festival regular, waiting for the Federico Fellini classic 8½ to begin.

Of the 984 seats in Nandan 1, 436 were free to be booked on the portal bookyshow.com under the reduced seating arrangement in keeping with Covid safety protocol. “There were 226 bookings for the 9am show but less than 200 turned up,” said an usher.

Among them was a quartet of “Facebook friends”, three of whom were festival debutants. “It was easier to get delegate cards this year. The rush used to be so much that we never made the cut. Registration is also free which made things easier for us,” grinned Akash Mitra, a data science Masters student from Deshapriya Park. Mainak Dutta, a Chandernagore boy who was a delegate last year too, pointed out the Rs 500 registration fee had been waived this year. All four of them had booked tickets for three films on Day 1.

After the chief minister directed the scrapping of the online booking system and a switch to entry on the basis of the registered cards in her inaugural speech on Friday, holders of delegate or guests cards were allowed entry to the venues on a priority basis. Even for those who had booked their tickets online, no effort was made to make them occupy the exact seats that they had booked.

Yet, some like Somnath Guha could not get in. The man in his late 50s had turned up with a photocopy of the emailed acceptance of his application for a delegate card. “It was so crowded yesterday at the counter that I could not collect it. I was scared about possible infection,” he pleaded at the gate to no avail.

Though the elderly were too few for even finger count in the first show, they showed up in greater numbers in the evening. Most headed not for the films but for the exhibition on Soumitra Chatterjee in the Nandan foyer. Subodh Ghosh, 84, had come alone by bus from Bagbazar. “I like spending time at the Rabindra Sadan complex. I heard the films would be shown free so tried to enter but was not allowed. But I am happy to visit the exhibition. It is not crowded,” said the octogenarian who had no clue about delegate cards. Binata Ray, a 68-year-old with a walking stick, too had turned up from Garia with her daughter hoping to catch “any film”. But without a delegate card they too had to be satisfied with visiting the exhibitions. “My mother loves coming to the film festival. Last year, too, we had seen a film,” her daughter said.

Kohinoor Chakraborty, a 67-year-old retired film director, was resting on a bench outside Nandan. “I have been attending this festival since its first edition. Online application is beyond me. Even till last year, they used to give out daily passes at the venue before the screening,” he said.

He could get into a short film screening in the afternoon for which tickets were not checked but was stopped at the feature film venues. “I will get hold of a guest card from acquaintances and watch films from Monday when entry becomes totally card-based,” he said, welcoming the scrapping of the online booking.

Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, who delivered the Satyajit Ray Memorial Lecture on Saturday, praised the authorities for the courage to hold a “physical festival”. “Amid this pandemic, it is a brave move,” he said.

Filmmaker Goutam Ghose takes a look at an exhibition on Soumitra Chatterjee at the Nandan foyer after the inauguration on Saturday afternoon. The exhibition has photographs of the iconic actor from his childhood down to his last journey, including a section with his mentor Satyajit Ray and another on his award-winning moments. It also has costumes from five of his theatrical productions -- Neelkantha, Kalmrigaya, Phera, Homapakhi and Raja Lear, with a note from his daughter and colleague Poulami Bose. About a dozen of his paintings also find space with notes on him as a painter by artistes Jogen Chowdhury and Shuvaprasanna. A screen shows a short film on his life. Picture by Pradip Sanyal