Simi Garewal to pay tribute to Shashi Kapoor at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2018 will have a special tribute to the late Shashi Kapoor this year. The actor, who passed away on 4 December 2017, will be paid tribute by his Siddhartha (1972) co-actor, Simi Garewal at the festival. The actress and host is set to attend the special screening of the 1972 film at the festival. 

The English category of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne has a range of films from different regions of India, including the 1972 film directed by Conrad Rooks. Starring Kapoor and Garewal, the film was based on the eponymous novel by Herman Hesse. While the film was received well internationally, the presence of a nude scene prevented its India release owing to censor troubles. The film remains one of the key international projects that Kapoor was part of. 

Garewal who was Kapoor’s co-actor in the film will be hosting the screening as a special commemoration for the late actor, following which she will also engage in a special Q&A session with the audience who would be flying down from various parts of Australia and New Zealand.

Speaking about the session, the actress and host said, "Siddhartha keeps getting a resurgence every new decade. And in the West, I find that even though Shashi has done a lot of films with Ismail Merchant, people still remember him for Siddhartha. Recently I was asked to present the film at a festival in London and pay tribute to Shashi. I just talk about Shashi before the screening, what I know about him and my feelings, my friendship and my work with him and I just talk to them about that. So that’s the tribute, the happy moments I shared with my dear, dear friend." 

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will be held from 10-22 August. The festival will also see attendance by several film personalities like Dhanush, Rajkumar Hirani, Rani Mukerji, Freida Pinto, Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal.