The 8th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2017 kicked off with the Australian premiere of Alankrita Shrivastava’s Lipstick Under My Burkha. Dubbed as the largest Indian film festival of the Southern hemisphere, IFFM will showcase over 60 films including Bollywood titles, indie films, and short films in over 20 different languages. This will also include over 30 Australian premieres. 

(L-R) Director of Lipstick Under My Burkha Alankrita Shrivastava, actors Tannishtha Chatterjee and Konkana Sensharma and Festival Director Mitu Bhowmick

The festival was officially opened in the presence of Festival Director Mitu Bhowmick alongwith guests Konkana Sensharma and Alankrita Srivastava who lit the ceremonial lamp. 
 
Besides screening, the fest will also hold several special events including a flag hoisting event, Masterclasses, Telstra Bollywood Dance Competition, screening at Dandenong and a special awards night. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will be hoisting the Indian national flag at Melbourne’s iconic pulse point, Federation Square. In addition, the actress will also be felicitated for her contribution to global cinema by the government at the Westpac IFFM Awards night.

Alankrita Shrivastava and Konkana Sensharma addressing the audience

Amongst other guests who will be attending this festival are Karan Johar, Sushant Singh Rajput, Raj Kummar Rao, Adil Hossain, Malaika Aroa, Nitesh Tiwari, Rajeev Masand, Vikram Phadnis etc.
 
On making the festival bigger this year, Mitu Bhowmick said,”It was indeed a great pleasure to host the Australian premiere of Lipstick Under My Burkha. The audience was thrilled to have seen a film that has literally redefined the way women oriented content has been shaping up in India for the past few years. Alankrita and Konkona graced the opening night and also addressed questions of the curious audience post the film. We are happy to have Lipstick as the opening night film because the film doesn’t only entertain but also makes us think.”
 
The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne is one of the few festivals which is officially supported by the government, in this case the Victorian Government which has been associated with the festival since its inception in 2010. Last year the festival boasted of 51 films and documentaries from across India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia.