The show must go on: 26th Kolkata film festival to be held virtually; SRK will attend inauguration

KOLKATA: Asserting that the show must go on despite the pandemic situation, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said superstar Shah Rukh Khan will grace the virtual inauguration of 26th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) on January 8. The seven-day festival will commence by paying tribute to two greats - auteur Satyajit Ray on his birth centenary, and iconic Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee, who died of post-COVID complications in November last year.

"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," Banerjee said on Twitter.

Ray's classic 'Apur Sansar', which was Chatterjee's debut film, will be screened at the inauguration.


A total of 131 films -- in feature, short and documentary formats -- will be screened at the select state- run theatres of the city, including Nandan and Rabindra Sadan.

Superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan along with other big names of Bollywood were guests at the inaugural ceremony for the past few years.