New Delhi, March 13 Special tributes and honors for prominent Indian film personalities, including the late Dharmendra and actress Sharmila Tagore, are likely to be a major highlight of the Delhi International Film Festival, which is scheduled to begin on March 25.
The week-long film festival has received a record number of entries, with nearly 2,100 films, including more than 1,300 from abroad. Officials said on Friday that this will be one of the largest film festivals in the country in terms of entries.
The festival will also pay tribute to the renowned film director and actor, Guru Dutt, and the versatile personality from Tamil cinema, K Balachander, according to a senior official from the Delhi government.
The festival will be inaugurated at Bharat Mandapam on March 25. Related events, including film screenings, will be held at theaters, auditoriums, and other public places across the city, with several Bollywood stars expected to participate in these programs.
Three screening committees are currently reviewing the entries, and the list of shortlisted films will be announced soon, officials said.
Up to 125 Indian and international films will be selected from all the applications and screened during the seven-day festival.
Recently, the logo of the film festival was unveiled by Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta at an event organized by the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC).
Gupta said the festival aims to position Delhi as a global hub for cinema, art, and culture while remaining a public and city-wide celebration rather than a closed industry event.
The film festival will include gala premieres, masterclasses, industry roundtables, workshops, film markets, and cultural performances, in addition to neighborhood screenings and other public events across the city.
Another highlight of the festival will be "Her Lens: Women in Films at IFFD," a special program designed to showcase women filmmakers. The program will be a collaboration between Academy Award-winning producer Guneet Monga and DTTDC.