A galaxy of stars to perfom at IFFI

Mumbai, A galaxy of Bollywood stars including Salman Khan, Esha Deol, Ritesh Deshmukh as well as dancing sensation Prabhudeva will perform at the glittering opening ceremony of the 37th International Film Festival of India to be held in Goa tomorrow.

"We have representation from all sections of India's film industry. For example from the South, we have Prabhudeva performing while from the West, we have Sachin and Supriya Pilgaonkar. The Bollywood element will be brought in by performances from Salman Khan, Esha Deol, Riya Sen, Ritesh Deshmukh and others," said Raman Raheja of Brilliant Entertainment, the event manager of the festival.

The ceremony will be attended by several more celebrities, including Anil Kapoor, Bengali actor Prasenjit and actress Vidya Balan who will assist in the lighting of the lamp.

"The cultural programme after the inaugural ceremony promises to be a huge extravaganza with many star performances. There will be fireworks display, a naval air show and a carnival parade preceding the actual ceremony," J P Singh, Chief Secretary of Goa, said here.

The ten-day festival will be inaugurated by veteran actor Shashi Kapoor in the presence of Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Das Munshi.

The festival will open with Pedro Almdovar's critically acclaimed film 'Volver' starring Penelope Cruz.