Veteran Bollywood director Yash Chopra inaugurated the 41st edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Panaji, Goa on Monday.

Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and actor Ajay Devgn were the chief guests at the ceremony.

The film extravaganza was kicked off with a screening of the hit British film “West is West” and will go on to showcase 300 films from 61 countries.

The inaugural was attended by other Bollywood biggies including Subhash Ghai and Rajkumar Hirani.

The “3 Idiots” director Hirani, actor Manoj Bajpai and actress Divya Dutta were felicitated at the event.

Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said that Goa has become one of the prime entertainment destinations with films like “Golmaal 3” and “Guzaarish” being shot there.

He said his government was working towards making shooting in the state easy for filmmakers and to encourage directors to showcase the local art and culture in their films.

This year at IFFI, films from Canada, US and other European countries are vying for the top awards as opposed to earlier when the competition section was open only to films from Asia, Africa and Latin America.