Bong beauties Bipasha Basu, Sushmita Sen, Rani Mukerji honoured at 19th Kolkata International Film Festival

Bengali beauties Bipasha Basu, Sushmita Sen and Rani Mukerji, who have established themselves in Bollywood with their extraordinary charisma and talent, were given special felicitation at the 19th Kolkata International Film Festival on Sunday. The grand fest came to an end celebrating women power.

The list of "pancha kanya" (five daughters), who were felicitated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the closing ceremony of the eight-day festival, was completed by veteran actress Moushumi Chatterjee and leading Bengali heroine Koel Mullick. All the five actresses were honoured with shawls and mementoes in a packed Science City auditorium acknowledging their immense contribution to the world of cinema and entertainment. A moved Rani was all praises for Mamata Banerjee, "She has transformed Bengal. Since she became the chief minister, Bengal has changed for the better. The ride from the airport to the Science City was great. Mamata Banerjee is an inspiration to a lot of women.”

Mousumi added, "Mamatadi, by inviting us and allowing us to be a part of this festival, did a great ending.” An elated Sushmita also said, "I am so happy today. After all, I am a daughter of Bengal. What a joy to be present here to receive this wonderful honour. It's a blessing to belong to such a country and state.”As told by Bipasha, "We all have dreams and if we keep believing in our dreams, we will succeed." Mamata Banerjee urged the celebrities to stay in touch with Bengal, "Don't forget Bengal. We have to restore the golden glory of the state.”Among others, Rani’s parents Ram Mukherjee and Krishna Mukherjee, Bengali singer Dwijen Mukhopadhyay and yesteryear romantic hero Biswajit were also honoured at the event. Bangladeshi director Mustafa Sarwar Farooqi's feature film Television bagged the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (Netpack) award. The permanent logo for the festival, created by Tapan Barik, was also unveiled at the closing ceremony of the festival.