It was a mixed bag on the opening day of the 9th Osian's-Cinefan festival. Three Bollywood beauties added a touch of glamour to the proceedings after which the opening film "Raami" was screened to a mixed response from the audience.

Bollywood stars Manisha Koirala, Gul Panag and Divya Dutta set the red carpet on fire at the opening function at the Siri Fort auditorium late Friday.

Manisha, whose grandmother passed away recently, said she was feeling "quite lost now". Sporting an exquisite white salwar kameez, the actor was mobbed by the media, till colleague Rajit Kapoor came to her rescue - all of which only added to delaying the start of the opening film.

Panag wore a beautiful pastel shade evening dress and carried an embellished handbag. The "Dor" girl, sporting a butterfly tattoo on her back, said: "I want every film of mine to take me to another level. I want to be in the industry for a long time." Panag said she has four films set for release this year.

Divya Dutta looked slimmer than ever. The Punjabi beauty looked gorgeous in a new hair cut and a white sari, making the shutterbugs go wild. She said: "This (Osian's) is a great platform for promoting cinema, especially the ones that cannot make it big commercially."

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Anurag Kashyap goes unspotted

The opening ceremony was about to start, Divya Dutta had already walked the red carpet and as the media stood waiting to pounce on Gul Panag and Manisha Koirala, somebody walked past quietly - and went by unnoticed! It was acclaimed director Anurag Kashyap of "Black Friday" fame.

Possibly for many Kashyap - unshaven and wearing a grey T-shirt - was not a priced byte. Some may have even not recognised the talented writer-director but IANS had a word with him. "I will be here throughout the festival. I'm a jury member. It's very good that filmmakers are finding a platforms like Osian's," he said.

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Opening film 'Raami' gets a mixed response

Osian's kick started with "Raami", based on the folk tale of two lovers Asli and Karam, told through song. The Iran-Azerbaijan co-production deals with man's relationship with nature, war and music.

"Raami" narrates the story of a middle-aged Azerbaijani folk composer who has spent 10 years in a war refugee camp, how he goes back looking for his Armenian wife and child after the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The 76-minute film, directed by Babak Shirinsefat, evoked mixed response from the audience. Some thought it was confusing and slow while others loved the intense and emotional plot.

--- IANS