Gulzar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali to star in film fest

Bengaluru: Oscar award-winning lyricist Gulzar and eminent filmmakers Ashok Amritraj and Aparna Sen, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and D. Venkatesh will form the star-studded cast at the launch of the Bangalore International Film Festival on Thursday.

The festival, being inaugurated at Vidhana Soudha, is being organised jointly by the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy and the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce. Raam Reddy's award-winning Kannada film Thithi will be screened at the inaugural ceremony. Acclaimed Bharatnatyam dancers Shobana and Nirupama Rajendra will also perform. For the first time, the festival, now in its eighth year, will happen in Bengaluru and Mysuru.  

172 films from 50 countries will be screened at 11 theatres across the city, including PVR cinemas in Forum Mall, Koramangala and Orion Mall, Rajajinagar. Information Minister Roshan Baig is to have a screen at the proposed multiplex at the convention centre near KIA in the future.

Films by world renowned filmmakers including Istvan Szabo from Hungary, Jafer Panaji from Iran, Jia Zhang Ke from China and Nanni Moretti from Italy form this year's impressive lineup.

Delegates can register at Badami House, N.R. Square, Suchitra Film Society, BSK Stage, Information Department on Infantry Road and the KFCC premises. Online registration is also possible. The delegate fee is Rs 600 for the public and Rs 300 for students, Film Society members, senior citizens and the KFCC film family.