Shabana Azmi hoists tricolour in Melbourne ahead of Independence Day | Watch

Veteran actor Shabana Azmi, who attended the prestigious Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2023, recently hoisted the National Flag in the Australian city.

Shabana Azmi’s upcoming film 'Ghoomer' opened the film festival, which features Abhishek Bachchan and Saiyami Kher, in lead roles.

Shabana Azmi addressed the gathering at the ceremony. She 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 (IFFM) is the largest annual celebration of Indian cinema outside of India. The festival showcases some of the most diverse and inclusive films and filmmakers, all whilst encapsulating Indian cinema.

The festival commenced on August 11 and will conclude on August 20.

Shabana Azmi was last seen in Karan Johar’s ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’. The film, which also starred Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Dharmendra and Jaya Bachchan, has been doing exceptionally well at the box office.