New Delhi, June 10: Prominent film personalities, including Subhash Ghai, Yash Chopra and Raveena Tandon, today welcomed moves for making Goa a permanent venue for the India International Film Festival (IFFI) on the lines of the Cannes Film Festival. "The proposal of making Goa a permanent venue for the IFFI is a positive step as the state is already a tourist attraction and the state government is very enthusiastic about it,” 'showman' Subhash Ghai told reporters here after the government held consultations with film personalities on the issue.

"This is not a new proposal rather this was under consideration for last so many years. Moreover, Goa has got everything this festival requires,” film-maker Yash Chopra said.
Ghai said, "If Goa is the venue, the festival won't get bogged down by political interference.”

But both the film-makers said that it will take atleast one to one-and-a-half years to get the infrastructure for the event in place in Goa.
"Lot of preparation would be needed as this change is going to redefine the film festival. For that the government need to conduct studies and requires cooperation from all the concerned parties,” Ghai said.
Bureau Report