Exclusive! KIFF: Ashoka, Ajanta, Menoka, and other private cinema halls to host festival screenings this year

The 29th Kolkata International Film Festival is just around the corner. With Mrinal Sen and Dev Anand’s centenary tribute in focus, the festival will begin on December 5 and will go on till December 12. As per sources, this year, the inauguration ceremony will see a stellar guest list, including Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha, the festival committee has also planned to reach out to a lot more cinephiles. 

Also read: KIFF: Prosenjit Chatterjee to serve as the chairman of the welcoming committee 

This year, along with government theatres like Nandan, Rabindra Sadan, Nazrul Tirtha, and Radha Studio, a number of private halls – single screens and multiplexes – will screen the festival films. Earlier, festival films were shown in Navina and some other halls. This year, Ashoka Cinema, Ajanta Cinema, Menoka Cinema, Star, Prachi, Minar, Bijoli, and other theatres are taken on board for the festival. Talking about this, festival committee chairman Raj Chakraborty said, “We wanted to reach out to more people and hence, we approached a number of single-screen theatres and multiplexes. We are glad that we will be able to screen at 21 halls.”

Also read: KIFF: Will Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan give it a miss? 

This year, in the Bengali Panorama section, a bunch of films by new directors will be screened. Mon Patanga, Bonobibi, Bijayar Pore, Abar Asibo Fire, Matripokkho, and Anath are the films to be shown. Two of Swastika Mukherjee's films, Matripokkho and Bijayar Pore, are on the list. To mark Mrinal Sen’s birth anniversary, Anjan Dutt made a film, Ekhon Chalchitra, to pay tribute to his mentor. This film will be screened at the festival.