Italian actress Monica Bellucci to attend 19th Mumbai Film Festival

Italian actress Monica Bellucci will attend the 19th edition of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She will be the first recipient of a special award instituted by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) to honour prominent women artistes in international cinema. Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap will be in conversation with Bellucci at a masterclass during the festival.

Bellucci who will be visiting India for the first time, said, “I am very touched and honoured to receive the award. Thank you MAMI for the invitation. It’s very exciting to come to India for the first time as well as present some of my films there.”

Smriti Kiran, the festival’s creative director said, “The festival’s director, Anupama Chopra, and I interviewed her during the Marrakech Film Festival some years ago, and she sounded very enthusiastic about visiting India. As you know, she is a mother of two kids and a professional. This year, she has been able to work out her schedule to attend the film festival in Mumbai. Bellucci has a world view you can connect with and respect. She also has such graceful take on aging.”

Reportedly actor Shah Rukh Khan will be throwing a part in Bellucci’s welcome. For the uninitiated, Bellucci was all praises for Khan after she met him in Morocco in 2015.