Mumbai: Veteran actress Shabana Azmi hoisted the Indian flag at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2023.

As the Tricolour fluttered against the Melbourne skyline, the shared emotions of patriotism and unity resonated strongly with attendees.

Commenting on the ceremony, Shabana said: "To be having this honour to hoist the Indian flag, the flag that I’m so proud of, the flag all of us present today are proud of in Melbourne is an honour I never believed I could have."

"I would like to reiterate that we are here to celebrate Indian cinema in Melbourne, and I truly believe that art knows no boundaries and cinema can be an instrument for social change."

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2023 continues to be a significant platform for showcasing the vibrancy and diversity of Indian cinema on the global stage and the festival started on 11th august and will conclude on 20th august.

The IFFM 2023 also feted many Indian personalities for their contribution.

Rani Mukerji was named the Best Actress In Film (Female), Vijay Varma as Best Actor (Male) In Series took home the top honours at the 14th edition of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).

Rani won for 'Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway' and Mohit Agarwal took home the award for Best Performance in Film (Male) for 'Agra'.

While 'Sita Ramam' was announced the Best Film, 'Agra' the Best Indie Film, Kannada Filmmaker Prithvi Konanur was feted with Best Director.

Vijay Varma for 'Dahaad' and Rajshri Deshpande for 'Trial By Fire' were named as Best Performance (Male) and Best Performance (Female) in a series respectively.

Period Drama 'Jubilee' starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Aparshakti Khurana, Sidhant Gupta, Aditi Rao Hydari, Wamiqa Gabbi and Ram Kapoor was tagged as the Best Series.

(IANS)