The Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy inaugurated the 16th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), yesterday at the Nishagandhi open air auditorium, in a function attended by veteran actors Jaya Bachchan, Ompuri and Sukumari. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister looked forward to the festival to provide Mollywood a platform to imbibe the innovations happening in the world cinema.

Ms. Bachchan observed that the presence of stalwarts such as Adoor Gopalakrishnan and P.K. Nair itself points to the quality and legitimacy of the IFFK. Mr. Priyadarshan said the film festival was an occasion to renew ties and build new relationship.  The inaugural function  was followed by a cultural programme, 'Destiny's Dice,' based on the epic Mahabharata and directed by film-maker T.K. Rajeev Kumar.The inaugural film  'Under the Hawthron Tree,' directed by Chinese film-maker Zhang Yimou was screened a t the end of the function.