November is here and it’s the time for cinema lovers head to Goa to attend the much-awaited International Film Festival of India (IFFI). It is held every year between November 20 and 28 and is conducted jointly by the Directorate of Film Festivals (under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting) and the state Government of Goa. In the past editions, several significant films have premiered here and celebrities from all over India, as well as the world, have made their presence felt. The 53rd edition, which will begin in less than three weeks, also promises to be an exciting affair.

Bollywood Hungama has stumbled upon an interesting development. A source told Bollywood Hungama, “Bhediya, the much-awaited film starring Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon, will have its premiere at the 53rd IFFI. The film releases in theatres on November 25 and its premiere will be held a few days before. If all goes, the whole team of the film – actors Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon, Deepak Dobiryal and Abhishek Banerjee, director Amar Kaushik and producer Dinesh Vijan – will also be present during the premiere.”

The source continued, “The premiere of Bhediya will be a win-win situation for all. The audiences at IFFI will get a chance to see the film first, before its theatrical release. For The IFFI team, it works as Bhediya is a highly awaited film and its premiere will lead to a lot of excitement. As for the team of Bhediya, they’ll get a chance to showcase their film at such a prestigious event and it is sure to get a lot of attention from media and social media.”

And that’s not all. The source said, “The Storyteller, starring Paresh Rawal and directed by Ananth Mahadevan, will be screened at IFFI this year. It is backed by Jio Studios, which is also associated with Bhediya.”

The source then stated, “Madhur Bhandarkar’s India Lockdown, which will be premiered on Zee5 on December 2, will also be premiered at IFFI. The cast and crew might also attend the screening. A clearer picture will emerge by next week regarding the programme, schedule and the celebrities expected to head to Goa for this year’s film festival.”

Meanwhile, some of the acclaimed released films will also be shown at IFFI like S S Rajamouli's period epic RRR (2022), Vivek Agnihotri's shocking film The Kashmir Files (2022), Suriya's powerful courtroom drama Jai Bhim (2021) and Adivi Sesh's acclaimed bi-lingual film Major (2022).

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