IFFI 2021: Manoj Bajpayee, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Randhir Kapoor attend conclusion of 52nd edition

The curtains were brought down on the 52nd edition of the Internaitonal Film Festival of India (IFFI) yesterday with a festive celebration at the Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee indoor stadium, Panaji.

The festival concluded with the prize distribution for the winners at the film festival and a felicitation of several guests and members.

Actress Madhuri Dixit Nene was the guest of honour at the closing ceremony. She was felicitated on stage by Union information and broadcasting minister Anurag Singh Thakur. 

Actor-lyricist Jitendra Joshi was awarded the Silver Peacock for Best Actor (Male) for his performance in Nikhil Mahajan's film Godavari (2021). The film also shared the Silver Peacock for the Special Jury award with director Rodrigo de Oliveira's The First Fallen (2021). 

The closing ceremony also saw lyricist Prasoon Joshi, chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), being presented with the Indian Film Personality of the Year award.

Speaking after his felicitation, Joshi said, "Young minds should start celebrating the state of confusion. Confusion is the most fertile state and the most discomforting, but the best ideas have their origin in confusion."

Dedicating the award to his hometown of Almora in Uttarakhand, Joshi said, "I come from a small town, Almora, in Uttarakhand. It is very hard for someone coming from a small town to get exposure to the world of cinema. I dedicate this award to the mountains of Uttarakhand where I drew my inspiration from.”

The ceremony was attended by Union information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur, who marked the edition for keeping up with changing technology. The 2021 edition of the festival saw 234 screenings across 450 hours, with online screenings reportedly touching 30,000 hours.

The minister said, "At this IFFI, around 10,000 delegates from across the world, including filmmakers, students and cine enthusiasts, participated in a hybrid format. There were 234 screenings in which nearly 450 hours of movies were screened. Total hours watched online comes to a whopping 30,000+.”

Pointing to the first-time presence of OTT platforms at the film festival, Thakur said, "For the first time at IFFI, we had the presence and enthusiastic participation of OTT platforms. IFFI has embraced new technologies [and] platform choices of audiences and kept pace with changing times. We have also showcased best films from BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa] nations and hope that this partnership blossoms.”

The minister also praised the OTT platforms for interacting with cineastes at the festival through masterclasses and sessions. "More than 50 films were screened simultaneously on OTT platforms," he said. "Ten masterclasses and in-conversation sessions were organized in collaboration with OTT platforms. Manoj Bajpayee, Hrithik Roshan, Shoojit Sircar amongst many other masters of cinema shared their experiences and art.”

The closing ceremony also saw veteran actors Randhir Kapoor and Manoj Bajpayee, who were present as guests, being felicitated.

With performances celebrating 75 years of India's independence and 60 years of Goa's liberation, the festival was brought to a close musically.