The city is gearing up for a glittering once-in-a-lifetime event! The celebration of 100 years of Indian cinema is set to kick off on September 21 at the Jawaharlal Nehru indoor stadium at Periamet. Spanning four days, the festival will celebrate the cinema of the four major languages of the southern states in the presence of their respective chief ministers and President Pranab Mukherjee.
The celebrations, which have had industry insiders preparing on a war footing, promises to be even bigger, after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday handed over a cheque for Rs 10 crore to the South Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Film Chamber president C Kalyan and other members expressed their gratitude not only for the monetary contribution but also for the personal attention of the Chief Minister, who is set to grace the function.
The event will be of massive proportions, true to the size of the film industries that will be celebrated and showcased. The fete begins with a celebration of the Tamil film industry on September 21. The next day, the Kannada and Telugu industries will be showcased in the morning and evening sessions. Malayalam cinema will be featured on the morning of September 23, followed by a grand dinner in the evening. The dinner would see the participation of leading lights from the film fraternities of 17 languages of the country. Amitabh Bachchan, Sridevi and Aparna Sen have confirmed their participation.
On September 24, a four-hour grand finale would be attended by President Mukherjee, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and Kerala CM Oommen Chandy.