Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan will hoist the Indian national flag at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) in August.
The ceremony will be as part of the annual Independence Day celebrations of the festival.
“The flag hoisting ceremony in IFFM is more than only a formal tradition; it is a deep emotional and integrated experience. Looking at the tricolor unfliest on foreign soil, surrounded by artists, filmmakers and members of Indian and Australian communities, hes proud of our hearts,” Festival director Mitu Bhomik Lang said.
The director of the festival said: “Aamir Khan, whose voice vision and cinema have had a profound impact on the generations of film lovers not only in India but also globally, the leadership of this moment is actually a rare honor.”
Bhomik said that Aamir’s presence represents the strength and integrity of Indian story tell and “We stand for unity in IFFM, equality and diversity. We are ready to welcome audiences from all areas of life to see this inspirational moment.”
IFFM, supported by the Government of Victoria, stands as the largest Indian film festival organized outside India. With the legacy of showing powerful and diverse Indian stories, the festival remains a beach of inclusion and cinematic excellence.
In other news, filmmaker Prem Kapoor’s 1971 ‘Badanam Basti’, described as India’s first gay film, will be shown in The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).
This year, IFFM will screen approximately 75 films that reflect the subjects of inclusion to gender, breed, sexuality, disability and representation of women. One of the most anticipated highlights of the festival is the LGBTQ+ Pride Night prescribed for August 22, which promises to pay a powerful tribute to cinema and Quir South Asian identity in Australia.
In this festival, actress Tilotama Shom’s Bengali film “Bakho Bondi -Shadobox” would also have also applied to open the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).
At the beginning of her direction by Tanushree Das and Soumayanand Sahi, co-directed, Bakho Bondi, which had a world premiere in Berlin Film Festival 2025, is jointly produced by Tilotama and Jim Serb.
The film features the Tilotama Shom facility in the form of Maya, a set against the backdrop of a dusty Kolkata suburb, weaving a powerful story of love, flexibility and a working woman’s calm strength, navigating her everyday life.
