Melbourne film festival delayed by one day to accommodate Shahid-Priyanka

f reports are to be believed then the opening date of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) has been postponed by a day due to the unavailability of Teri Meri Kahaani stars Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra on June 10. The Bollywood stars were supposed to attend the festival on the opening day to promote Kunal Kohlis upcoming period film but as Shahid is co-hosting IIFA awards, he cannot reach Melbourne before 7.30 pm on June 10 due to time difference. Confirming the news, Producer Vicky Bahri said, There is a huge craze among NRIs and foreigners for Indian movies. These festivals are a good way to promote the film and increase our fan base. We had committed to open the festival on June 10, but it clashed with another tie-up we had with the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards that is being held in Singapore from June 7 to 9. He said, Due to the time difference, we will reach Melbourne only by 7.30 pm on June 10. It would be difficult to make it in time for the opening ceremony, which was going to be presided over by the Premier of Victoria, Ted Ballieu. So they were graceful enough to push the festival by a day to accommodate us. IFFM director Mitu Bhowmick-Lange said, One of the reasons for postponing the date was to accommodate Shahid and Priyanka. Also, June 11 is the Queens birthday, a national holiday in Australia. Its a better date to begin our celebrations a day later. Now the festival will open on June 11 and stars like Vidya Balan, who is also the official ambassador of the fest, South actor Vijay, Raju Hirani and designer Sabyasachi are expected to attend the event.