Kolkata/IBNS: The 28th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) was on Thursday inaugurated at the Netaji Indoor Stadium on a big scale after the gala flagship event of the West Bengal government witnessed a low-key occasion for two years owing to Covid-19 pandemic.

The festival was inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in presence of Governor C.A. Ananda Bose, Bollywood veterans Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, icons Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, singers Kumar Sanu, Arijit Singh, cricket icon Sourav Ganguly and other Tollywood celebrities.

The festival's inauguration was followed by the screening of the Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan starrer, filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee directed 1973 Hindi film Abhiman.

'Even now questions are being raised on civil liberties...': Amitabh Bachchan

In his customary long, well-researched address to the attendants, Amitabh Bachchan took his colleagues on the dais in confidence in criticising the "censorship" and curbs on "civil liberties".

Bachchan said, "The 1952 Cinematograph Act set out the structure of censorship as it stands today upheld by the Film Certification Board.

"Even now, and I'm sure my colleagues on stage would agree, questions are being raised on civil liberties and freedom of expression."

'Social media driven by certain narrowness...' says SRK

In the backdrop of the controversy over his co-actor Deepika Padukone's attire in upcoming film Pathaan's Besharam Rang song, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan talked about how social media "is driven by a certain narrowness of view..."

In a well crafted statement which is viewed as a response to a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader's objection to Deepika's revealing outfit, Shah Rukh said, "Cinema and advent of articulation through social media platforms have become the foremost expression of human experience and emotion. The collective narrative of the times is shaped by social media."

"I feel that cinema has an even more important role to play now. Social media is often driven by a certain narrowness of view that limits human nature to itself. And it's somewhere negativity increases social media consumption, and thereby increases its commercial value as well. Such pursuits enclose the collective narrative, making it divisive and destructive."

"Cinema exposes the vulnerability of human nature by telling stories in their simplest form as they are lived. It allows us to know each other better. In a way, it is best placed to sustain a collective counter-narrative that speaks to the larger nature of humankind. A narrative that brings to the fore humanity's immense capacity for compassion, unity and brotherhood," the 57-year-old actor added.

The festival will run till Dec 22.