The first edition of the three-day Kashi Indian International Film Festival began in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi today.

State tourism & culture affairs minister Neelkanth Tiwari inaugurated the festival at a grand event in the city, in the presence of Bollywood celebrities like actor Anupam Kher, filmmaker Rahul Mittra, President of Indian Film & Television Directors Association Ashoke Pandit, directors Satish Kaushik & Madhur Bhandarkar, MP & actor Ravi Kishan, comedian Raju Srivastava, Vinod Bachchan, amongst others.

While Anupam Kher & Ashoke Pandit will participate in a panel discussion on Varanasi’s rich cultural heritage, award-winning filmmaker Rahul Mittra will speak on the importance of Uttar Pradesh as a centre for film production, and the potential for regional cinema on the second day of the event.

This would be followed by performances of singer Kailash Kher and Hema Malini among others.

The Kashi Film Festival is taking place ahead of the beginning of the construction work on the ambitious film City at Sector-21 of the Yamuna Expressway Development Authority (YEIDA) area of Gautam Budh Nagar district in January 2022.