It will be a coming together of the South Indian Film Industry and Bollywood, as the stage is all set for celebration of the centenary year of Indian Cinema from September 21, with the crème de la crème of the film industry converging on the metropolis for the four-day event.
President Pranab Mukherjee and the chief ministers of four southern states—J Jayalalitha (Tamil Nadu), N Kiran Kumar Reddy(Andhra Pradesh), Siddaramaiah (Karnataka) and Oommen Chandy(Kerala)—will participate in the programme, organised by the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce (SIFCC).
Jayalalitha, a very successful matinee idol-turned-politician, who starred as the legendary MGR's heroine in more than 20 films in Tamil, will inaugurate the gala celebrations at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, which can accommodate more than 20,000 spectators.
SIFCC president Kalyan said free film shows and exhibition of film clippings and songs in public parks would be a special feature of the centenary celebrations.
“In addition, a theatre has been selected in each district to screen old films of the four states free of cost,” he said.
He said that flash mobs would assemble at the famous Marina Beech and Besant Nagar Beech on Wednesday to showcase the event.
The Kannada film industry has planned to organise a special entertainment programme on September 22. While the Telugu industry will host its programme the next day, the Malayalam and Tamil industries will stage various events on the opening day.
“There will be a programme with the leading director of the Tamil film industry on the inaugural day, with prominent actors, including Vijay, performing at various events,” a committee member of the event told Deccan Herald.
In addition, noted music composers Ilayaraja and A R Rahman are currently engaged in composing a special song for the event.
On the valedictory day of September 24, President Pranab Mukherjee, Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah and Bollywood stars and filmmakers, led by superstar Amitabh Bachchan, will grace the occasion.
The festival will also showcase the contributions of various legends of the Indian film industry, right from Dadasaheb Phalke. To mark the festival, the Department of Posts will also unveil stamps on 50 legends of South Indian cinema.
An organising committee member said that various actors from the four South Indian states would assemble on September 18 to chalk out their programmes. Besides entertainment events, the SIFCC is also hosting various workshops related to the film industry, from film shooting to acting.
SIFCC, a South Indian film producers', distributors' and exhibitors' association, is headquartered in Chennai. The organisation consists of the Andhra Film Chamber of Commerce, Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce and the Tamil Nadu Film Chamber of Commerce.