Aamir Khan to be special guest at MAMI opening

Kiran, who is the co-chairperson of the fest, said the 51-year-old actor is currently busy with his upcoming film Dangal and Advait Chandan's untitled next. When asked if Aamir will be seen at MAMI, Kiran said in an interview, "Yes I am sure he will turn up at some point. I can't say anything now. He will hopefully be there at the opening night to support us. After that he is travelling a lot this month."

"Dangal is in post-production. We have Advait's film happening. We have all the prep going on for the release. I am hoping he will be a part of it," she said. The opening ceremony of the 18th Jio MAMI Mumbai International Film Festival will be held on October 20 at the Royal Opera House, here. Kiran said Aamir is ready to help everytime they are stuck at something and shared how he was the one who suggested that last year's 'Excellence in Cinema' award be given to iconic writers Salim-Javed.

"We were really wondering whom to give the 'Excellence in Cinema award' last year. We wanted somebody who really represented excellence in our minds, who we all knew, have grown up with and Aamir immediately said Salim-Javed. That was done, it was a great idea," she said.

"(If) we are running out of jury, we constantly pick up the phone and tell Aamir 'can you call Meryl Streep? Can you call Ava DuVernay?' Then he will write an email to whoever he knows," she said. The fest will open with actress Konkona Sensharma's directorial debut "A Death in the Gunj" on October 21, and will also screen yesteryear directors and legends Bimal Roy and P K Nair's films.

 The 'Country Focus' this year is on Turkey while two new awards have been introduced, called 'best film on gender equality' and 'best Indian female filmmaker' carrying cash price of Rs 10 Lakh and Rs 15 lakh, respectively. The festival will be held from October 20 till October 27 and screen over 180 films from 54 countries. 
 

• Aamir Khan
• MAMI
• Kiran Rao