In Canberra, a memorable start was made to the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in attendance.
The PM welcomed festival special guests actor Rani Mukerji and filmmaker Karan Johar for a keynote speech at Parliament House, just before Mukerji launched a special commemorative stamp honouring late Indian filmmaker Yash Chopra.
Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts and Festival Director Mitu Bhowmick Lange were present on the occasion too.
Both visiting personalities spoke at the event, not only about the legendary Yash Chopra, but also about Indian cinema and the role of the Festival itself in cementing India-Australia cultural ties.
Both have of course had close links with Yash Chopra (Mukerji even marrying into the family – she wed Chopra’s filmmaker son Aditya in 2014).
View this post on Instagram
Yash Chopra has had close links with IFFM, having been its first patron when it was launched 15 years ago, as Mitu Bhowmick Lange pointed out, and so the release of the commemorative stamp is fitting. In 2013, IFFM commemorated his lifetime achievements, screening his last film Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) and temporarily renaming La Trobe University’s Agora cinema as the “Yash Chopra Cinema”.
Its release honours Chopra’s fifty years of contribution to cinema.
One of the most successful filmmakers in the Hindi film industry, Yash Chopra’s works reaching out to a growing diaspora very successfully, and from there to worldwide viewers outside the Indian community.
Regarding the stamp that was launched, no details are as yet available. Communiques from IFFM do not indicate they are for Australia Post, and the inference is that much like the Australia Post stamp of Malayalam star Mammootty released in October last year, it is not a general release but can be purchased upon request. (Clarification on this however, is awaited).
As well, perhaps because the event was held within the Parliament House in Canberra, the general inference is that the Australian Parliament has announced the launch of the stamp.
Karan Johar and Rani Mukerji headline a bevy of stars that are on their way down under for the 15th iteration of the annual film festival, including AR Rahman, Ram Charan, Malaika Arora, Raju Hirani, Vikrant Massey, Onir and Sona Mahapatra.
The 15th iteration of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne officially begins on 15 August.
READ ALSO: What to look forward to at the most ambitious IFFM yet
