 "Netflix's 'Jamtara 2' actor Sachin Chandwade dies by suicide, found hanging in his apartment")
 "Decoding the case against 'Thamma' and 'Stree 2' composer Sachin of Sachin-Jigar duo amid his arrest on sexual harassment charges")
The 19th edition of Mumbai’s — nay, India’s — most prestigious film festival is all set to kick off. Beginning Thursday, 12 October 2017, the festival will conclude on the 18th, and is taking place across a number of locations in the city, although the Liberty Cinema in South Mumbai remains one of the main venues. The week-long Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival brings together on one platform, 220 films — from 49 countries and in 51 different languages. That’s quite a show of diversity there, because these languages include rare regional Indian ones such as Ladakhi, Chokri, Brij and Konkani. Films in African languages (including Kikuyu, Bembe, Nyanja, Tonga, Xhosa, Samoan and Lingala) will be another highlight of this edition of the Mumbai Film Festival. The 2017 edition of MAMI’s film festival sees several ‘firsts’. Ninety two films will compete in the nomination list for the Best Foreign Language Film category, setting a new record. In 2016, 89 films were submitted by countries all across the globe. Additionally, this year also marks the first time that films have been submitted by Haiti, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Senegal and Syria in the category. [caption id=“attachment_4136581” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  The Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival takes place from 12-18 October 2017[/caption] Opening the Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival is Anurag Kashyap’s sports drama Mukkebaaz. The film follows the travails of a boxer from a lower caste, struggling to make his mark. Produced by Aanand L Rai, Mukkebaaz stars Vineet Kumar Singh in the lead role. It was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2017. The categories in which various films will be competing at the Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival include India Gold, International Competition, India Story, World Cinema and Dimensions Mumbai. The festival jury is headed by John Madden, with other jury embers including Konkona Sensharma, Alexis Zabe, Celina Jade and Santiago Mitre. Monica Bellucci is the special guest at this edition of the festival, while veteran actress Sharmila Tagore is being honoured with an ‘Excellence in Cinema (India) Award’. Firstpost is bringing you LIVE updates from the opening ceremony of the Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival. Stay tuned for more.
Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival kicks off with glitzy opening ceremony, Anurag Kashyap's Mukkabaaz
The week-long Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival brings together on one platform, 220 films — from 49 countries and in 51 different languages
 "Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival kicks off with glitzy opening ceremony, Anurag Kashyap's Mukkabaaz"){kind=logo}
And as the proceedings within the venue kicked off, with speeches by Nita Ambani and Amruta Fadnavis, we caught the last few celebrities dashing into the venue. Among them were Imtiaz Ali and Karan Johar. We asked them what they were looking forward to at MAMI and here’s what they had to say:
Imtiaz Ali — “Right now, I’m very excited to watch Mukkabaaz. (apart from that) I use MAMI as the occasion to get my hands on very elusive films — films I wouldn’t otherwise get to watch, unless I resort to piracy (which no one should ever resort to)!”
Karan Johar — “Mukkabaaz! I’ve asked Anurag to arrange a screening for all of us at Dharma. This venue… Liberty Cinema takes me back to my Kuch Kuch Hota Hai days, because that’s where it premiered in 1998. So I feel life has come full circle when I come back here for MAMI.”
As Dulquer Salmaan dashed into the venue, we got him to answer a couple of really quick questions. Shooting for his Bollywood debut film here, Dulquer told us: “I’m almost done shooting here; I have about two days of shoot left in Mumbai. Irrfan and Mithila — it’s been a blast working with him.”
As for the event itself, Dulquer said, “It’s exciting just to be here. I rarely get invited to film festivals, which is why I’m very happy to be here!”
Dulquer Salmaan speaks with mediapersons at the Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival:
Amruta Fadnavis graces #JioMAMIwithStar2017 Opening Ceremony and delivers an inspiring note. pic.twitter.com/BUxeO21oG0
— MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (@MumbaiFilmFest) October 12, 2017
Nita M Ambani, festival co-chairperson declares #JioMAMIwithStar2017 open. pic.twitter.com/t1NuCyRhLX
— MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (@MumbaiFilmFest) October 12, 2017
We also caught up with Fatima Sana Shaikh, Nitish Tiwari and Ashwini Iyer-Tiwari on the red carpet. When we asked tem what they were most looking forward to at this edition of the Mumbai Film Festival, here’s what they had to say:
Ashwini — “More beautiful films, more international films.”
Nitish — “Mukkabaaz!”
Fatima — “Mukkabaaz, and all the great films that are lined up for this edition of the festival.”
Kunal Kapoor and Aditi Rao Hydari are the hosts for the opening ceremony of the Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival:
.@BajpayeeManoj arrives in style at #JioMAMIwithStar2017 Opening Ceremony pic.twitter.com/roimYMN6j8
— MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (@MumbaiFilmFest) October 12, 2017
Siddharth Roy Kapoor and @VishalBhardwaj are with us at #JioMAMIwithStar2017 Opening Ceremony. pic.twitter.com/6M7kQIpz0h
— MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (@MumbaiFilmFest) October 12, 2017
Kabir Khan and Nandita Das at the Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival:
Nita Ambani is seen on the red carpet of the Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival:
Anurag Kashyap’s Mukkabaaz opens the Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival:
Head of International Jury John Madden at #JioMAMIWithStar2017 Opening Ceremony. pic.twitter.com/eU6y0CNggx
— MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (@MumbaiFilmFest) October 12, 2017
Jackie Shroff at the Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival:
Aamir Khan on the MAMI red carpet with Secret Superstar co-star Zaira Wasim:
Kiran Rao, Vidhu Vinod Chopra & @anupamachopra are all set for #JioMAMIwithStar2017 #OpeningCeremony. pic.twitter.com/lAXGnCw8qs
— MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (@MumbaiFilmFest) October 12, 2017
Chairperson for the Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival Kiran Rao addresses the press at the opening ceremony at Liberty Cinema:
Vidhu Vinod Chopra on the Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival red carpet:
Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra — whose wife, the film critic Anupama Chopra is the moving force behind the Mumbai Film Festival — had a slate-ful of films chalked out as ‘must-watch’. At Liberty Cinema for the opening ceremony of the Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival, Chopra told Firstpost: “I have some 37 films marked, to watch out for. So I’m looking forward to catching at least 15-20 of those.”
Vidhu Vinod Chopra was also asked about the Sanjay Dutt biopic he is producing. Refusing to divulge too many details about the project, Chopra merely said, “I’m very happy with how it is turning out. You will see how amazing Ranbir (Kapoor) is, soon.”
Sudhir Mishra was among the first guests to show up at the Liberty Cinema (with other celebrity attendees stuck in heavy Mumbai traffic). Speaking with Firstpost, the filmmaker extolled the virtues of the Mumbai Film Festival, and said returnign to the platform was always a joyous event.
‘I’ve been associated with MAMI for very long," Mishra told us. “I’m happy to be here, and especially looking forward to meeting Monica Bellucci.”
We are extremely delighted to have Liberty Cinema host #JioMAMIWithStar2017 Opening Ceremony & Opening Film #Mukkabaaz. pic.twitter.com/jKgoqNVzUA
— MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (@MumbaiFilmFest) October 12, 2017
#JioMAMIWithStar2017 Opening Ceremony. The red carpet is all set! #Mukkabaaz #IndiaPremiere #ItBegins. pic.twitter.com/CLuNogF50I
— MAMI Mumbai Film Festival (@MumbaiFilmFest) October 12, 2017
 "‘I’d love to do it’: Trump refuses to rule out third term — despite constitutional limit")
 "What is the ‘Golden Fleet’ of navy ships that Trump wants to counter China with?")
 "‘Ramayan country’: Why Trinidad and Tobago wants to build a large Ram temple")
 "How China's rare earths choke changed America's trade deals")
 "‘I’d love to do it’: Trump refuses to rule out third term — despite constitutional limit")
 "What is the ‘Golden Fleet’ of navy ships that Trump wants to counter China with?")
 "‘Ramayan country’: Why Trinidad and Tobago wants to build a large Ram temple")
 "How China's rare earths choke changed America's trade deals")
](https://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/mami-collage-825.jpg){kind=link}
Top Shows
