By Hindustan Times
The crowd at the opening day of the 12th International Film Festival of Marrakech could have been disappointed at not attending to see Shah Rukh Khan, but at the second day, the star didn’t disappoint them. Before entering the venue, SRK walked past the barricade, shaking hands along with his fans, signing autographs and waving out. At one point, when some excited fans tried to grip his coat, the safety needed to step in and pull him back. On being asked the way it felt to have one of these fan following in Morocco, he said, “It’s the affection. You'll only enjoy it.”
Celebrating Indian cinema
On day two, the festival paid tribute to Indian cinema. The Indian contingent, led by Amitabh Bachchan, included Sharmila Tagore, Hrithik Roshan, Arjun Rampal, Sridevi with husband Boney Kapoor, Anurag Kashyap with wife Kalki Koechlin, Karan Johar, Varun Dhawan, Siddharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt, among others. The evening concluded with the screening of late filmmaker Yash Chopra’s last directorial, Jab Tak hain Jaan.
‘Kareena not converted’, confirms mom-in-law
Sharmila Tagore put the entire speculations to rest on whether Kareena converted to Islam for her marriage to Saif Ali Khan. “Kareena
hasn’t converted. Saif put it rightly – it’s love and bonding between two people,” said Tagore, who's one of the crucial nine jury members on the festival.
Monica Bellucci on Devdas
Italian actor Monica Bellucci — a distinct guest on the festival — was on the event to honour Indian cinema. The actor is surprisingly familiar with Indian cinema, and said that she doesn’t rule out the potential of doing an Indian film. “The first Hindi film I saw was Devdas (the Shah Rukh Khan one, we’re guessing),” said the actor, adding, “I wonder how Indian actors are so popular in every thing of the sector. The group goes crazy wherever they go,” she said.
Ask her if she is planning to travel to India, and he or she says, “I’ve never been to India, but I'LL BE there soon.” The author is on the Marrakech Film Festival by invitation.
