Vidya Balan, Richa Chadha and Radhika Apte will be a big part of the women empowerment themed Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

The sixth edition of the festival will be held from August 11 to August 20 with Vidya Balan as the brand ambassador. The 11-day festival will feature gala events, master classes with India’s leading film figures, and more than 50 film screenings in 17 languages across four venues in Melbourne.

The festival opens with the Leena Yadav directed film Parched, starring Radhika Apte as one of the leads. Talking about the film, Leena said, “Parched is my reaction to a misogynistic society that treats women as objects of sex, where their greatest role is to serve men. Giving my women characters a voice that observes, absorbs and reacts was what drove me to write this drama about ordinary women who are driven to extraordinary ends.”

Richa Chadha, will be hosting a masterclass for film enthusiasts across Melbourne. The masterclass will throw light on varied aspects of Indian films such as the changes in women’s roles in both mainstream and indie films. On being selected for the workshop, Richa said, “It feels awesome to be invited to speak on behalf of Indian cinema. There’s a huge expat population in Australia and I am excited to meet them. Looking forward to discussing cinema at such a platform”.

The IFFM will also be graced by Rishi Kapoor as its chief guest, who will also do the honour of hoisting the Indian flag at the festival on the Indian Independence Day in Melbourne. The festival will close with a screening of Angry Indian Goddesses a critically acclaimed film directed by Pan Nalin.
—–(Source : The Indian Express)