Review: Anil Kapoor, Arbaaz Khan attend the closing ceremony of IFFI in Goa

The past few days in Goa -- the almost always sunshine destination of India, were sunnier, thanks to the presence of a host of stars and film personalities.

The occasion was the 49th edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI 2018) For 9 days, the streets of Bambolim and other venues of the festival remained abuzz with the abundance of creative shows. The festival that has earned a great reputation for bringing to fore many aspects of cinema and honoring many deserving artists, this year too brought along many commendable highlights. Ukranian/Russian film 'Donbass' won the Golden Peacock for the Best Film in the International Competition Category, National Award winning Ladakhi film 'Walking with The Wind' directed by Praveen Morchhale won the ICFT Unesco Gandhi Medal. The event also awarded Salim Khan awarded the Indian Film Personality award. Some of the stars who attended the show included Anil Kapoor, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Jim Sarbh, Arbaaz Khan, Diana Penty and many others.

A visibly emotional Arbaaz Khan, who collected the award on behalf of his dad Salim Khan and read out on stage, a note sent by his father. He read -- "I would like to dedicate this award to Indore - my birth place, and Mumbai - the place that made me."

German film Sealed Lips, was the closing film of the event. The film got critical attention. While the attending audiences were upbeat about the event, there was a palpable excitement in the air for the next edition of the event. As next year, will mark 50 years of the festival, the organizers and attendees seemed quite upbeat abiout celebrating the next milestone. On the occasion Anil Kapoor said: "While I was coming I realized that next year will be 50th edition of IFFI. It will be a milestone in its own way. I am sure this year was even bigger than last year. Next year, Indian cinema will reach big milestone and directors, actors and artists who are part of the industry are recognized, respected and loved all over the world. I was there yesterday for a session with Rhea and she asked good questions. It was a great experience."

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