The actor will make a rare public appearance after the pandemic by participating in the event at the 26th edition of the festival on Friday.
Our Correspondent
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced yesterday that actor Shah Rukh Khan will participate in the inauguration ceremony for the 26th Kolkata International Film Festival tomorrow.
The week-long festival will pay tribute to the late Satyajit Ray and his favourite actor, the late Soumitra Chatterjee, through their films. Chatterjee died late last year from post-COVID-19 complications.
The inauguration will see the festival screen Apur Sansar (1959), a Ray classic and Chatterjee's debut as a film actor.
Announcing the news on Twitter, Banerjee wrote, "Together we will overcome this pandemic. But the show must go on. We are going ahead with KIFF 2021 virtually, on a smaller scale. Glad that my brother Shah Rukh Khan will join us virtually at the inaugural event on Jan 8, 4pm."
Together we will overcome this pandemic. But the show must go on. We are going ahead with #KIFF 2021 virtually, on a smaller scale. Glad that my brother @iamsrk will join us virtually at the inaugural event on Jan 8, 4pm. Watch Kolkata International Film Festival live
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) January 6, 2021
Shah Rukh Khan is also co-owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders, an Indian Premier League cricket team based in Kolkata.
According to the Press Trust of India, the festival will see a total of 131 films being screened at select state-run theatres across the city.
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