Indian Film Festival of Melbourne

3-22 May 2013

Amazing news! Powerhouse of Indian cinema Amitabh Bachchan will join Vidya Balan and other Indian film stars for this year’s Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

Festival dates have been extended from 3 – 22 May to accommodate a bursting program of more than 60 films and an outstanding line-up of international guests.

Festival ambassador Ms Balan will be in Melbourne to open the festival on 3 May, and Mr Bachchan will officially wrap up the festival on 22 May.

Mr Bachchan is one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema. His career as an actor, TV presenter, singer, producer and writer has spanned more than four decades.

Known as the ‘angry young man’ of Indian cinema in the early 1970s, he has appeared in over 180 films including comedy roles in DEEWAR and SHOLAY and the upcoming adaptation of THE GREAT GATSBY.

He was voted the ‘greatest star of stage or screen’ in a BBC Your Millennium online poll and at the Indian Filmfare Awards he has been nominated as Best Actor a record 28 times and Best Supporting Actor a record nine times.

IFFM will showcase the incredible depth and diversity of the thriving Indian film scene; and provide audiences with some of the most celebrated films of the last century including the very first Indian film Raja Harishchandra (1913).

But a dazzling selection of 60 films is only the start - there will also be a series of Master Classes with special guests from India’s film industry and some of India's biggest stars and most respected filmmakers are coming to share their films in person.

The Festival’s Western Union Short Film Competition will also provide a platform for the next generation of filmmaking talent from India, Australia and New Zealand.

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, delivered by Mind Blowing Films, is a Victorian Government initiative that aims to strengthen ties between the Indian film industry and Victoria.