Indian Film Festival of Melbourne to pay tribute to Rishi Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Sushant Singh Rajput

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2020 will pay tribute to the late Rishi Kapoor, Irrfan Khan and Sushant Singh Rajput, who passed away this year. The film festival began 20 October and will see 34 international premieres and 56 Australian premieres hosted on its streaming platform till 30 October. The festival received more than 3,000 entries this year, including 60 films which will be screened for free. 

In a statement, the festival management confirmed that there will be special screenings of 102 Not Out (2018), The Song of Scorpions (2017) and Kedarnath (2018) as a tribute to the three actors. 

In a statement, festival Mitu Bhowmick Lange, said, "Artistes live on through their legacy. These were some fine men who did some incredible movies that resonated with everyone. It was important for us to celebrate their memory. We handpicked some great films for our audience so that we relive a few bit of their lives with them. Their loss to the film industry is irrevocable but the magic of their movies will continue to entertain generations hereafter."

Khan passed away on 29 April while Kapoor died of complications of cancer on 30 April and Rajput died by suicide on 14 June. 

While Kapoor's 102 Not Out (2018), which also starred Amitabh Bachchan, and Rajput's Kedarnath, which marked the debut of Sara Ali Khan, were commercial successes in domestic and worldwide markets, it's the first time that the Indian diaspora will get to view The Song of Scorpions. The 2017 film, which starred Golshifteh Farahani, saw Khan reunite with Qissa director Anup Singh. The film was reviewed after its premiere at the Locarno Film Festival in 2017.