Waheeda Rehman's 'Teesri Kasam' to Open New Zealand Indian Film Festival

Veteran actress Waheeda Rehman will attend the opening ceremony of the inaugural Indian Film Festival of New Zealand (IFFNZ), where her iconic film Teesri Kasam will be the opening screening. The festival is scheduled to run from October 23 to 25 across three cities.

The debut edition will feature 30 screenings, including 10 feature films, 16 shorts, and four special presentations. Organisers have highlighted the linguistic breadth of the programme, which spans more than a dozen languages, from Gujarati, Bengali, and Malayalam to French, Japanese, and Nepali, alongside a silent film.

Teesri Kasam, starring Rehman and the late Raj Kapoor, was recently restored by the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) and the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC). Rehman said the film holds a special place in her heart and expressed delight that a new generation would discover its "timeless story and poetry."

Festival director Petrina D'Rozario noted that the closing film will be Pakeezah (1972), restored by the Film Heritage Foundation. She said IFFNZ will be only the second festival worldwide to screen the restored version, offering New Zealand audiences a rare chance to see the classic on the big screen.

Beyond screenings, the festival will host industry panels, post-film Q&A sessions, networking events, and an awards evening, aiming to showcase the richness and diversity of Indian cinema to an international audience.