Amitabh Bachchan should be given Bharat Ratna, demands Mamata Banerjee at Kolkata International Film Festival

The 28th Kolkata International Film Festival began with a gala inauguration with Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Jaya Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, Mahesh Bhatt, Shatrughna Sinha, Arijit Singh, Kumar Shanu, Pt Ajoy Chakrabarty and many other luminaries at the do. While Shah Rukh, in his speech, pointed out the responsibility of cinema in the time of social media, Big B talked about jingoism, civil liberty, and moral policing.  

After Amitabh Bachchan’s speech, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said, “Amitabh Bachchan should be honoured with Bharat Ratna and that is a demand from this stage.” Talking about her affection for Shah Rukh Khan, she said, “Shah Rukh is my brother. I tied rakhi to him. The fact that all these luminaries gathered here tonight marks the success of the film festival.” 

Mamata Banerjee thanked everyone on stage in her speech. After two years of disruption due to the pandemic, the 28th edition of the Kolkata International Film Festival kickstarted with its old glory. Throughout the festival, more than 183 films from 42 countries are scheduled to be screened at 10 different venues across the city during the seven days of the festival which will end on December 22. The festival began with Amitabh Bachchan’s 1973 film Abhimaan as part of a tribute to Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Besides, the festival will also pay tribute to the legendary actor with films and an exhibition. There will be another exhibition that will focus on the works of French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard.