MUMBAI : Coming to Goa is coming home, said a nostalgic Amitabh Bachchan on Thursday, while inaugurating the Indian Panorama section of the 50th edition of the 2019 International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

"Coming to Goa has always been like coming home. My very first film was shot here. And ever since then, I've had many opportunities to work in this wonderful place," Bachchan said at the inaugural ceremony, where a retrospective of his films was being screened as part of the festival's programming.

Bachchan's first film "Saat Hindustani" was shot in 1969 in Goa, in which he plays the role of one of the seven "satyagrahis", who take on the colonial Portuguese regime to free the coastal state.

The Amitabh Bachchan retrospective opened with his 2009 film "Paa" and among other films which are scheduled to be screened as part of the package are "Sholay", "Deewar", "Black", "Piku" and "Badla".

Twenty-six feature films and 15 non-feature films will be screened as part of the Indian panorama section at the IFFI.

The nine-day long IFFI is considered to be one of the largest international film festivals in Asia, during which nearly 200 films from 76 countries will be screened for a more than 7,000 odd strong contingent of delegates.

(SOURCE : IANS)