Grammy-nominated devotional singer Acyuta Gopi will headline the closing ceremony of the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), the organisers announced yesterday.

The New York-based singer , known globally for her devotional music and kirtan tracks such as ‘Radhe Govinda’, ‘Lagan Tumse Laga Baithe’ and ‘Tu Bas Gaya Kitni Dur’, will present a specially curated act for the festival finale on Friday (Nov. 28), a PTI report from Panaji stated yesterday.

Sanjay Jaju, Secretary in the Information & Broadcasting Ministry, said in a statement that the growing interest of young audiences in spiritual and devotional music made Gopi a natural choice for the cultural showcase.

“As part of the cultural programme for IFFI’s closing ceremony, we felt it fitting to invite Acyuta Gopi, whose Krishna bhajans have a unique way of bringing communities together. I am confident her performance will offer audiences a refreshing and memorable experience,” he added.

Gopi will also appear in WAVES OTT’s (Prasar Bharati’s streaming platform) special showcase, performing alongside select winners from last year’s Create India Challenge.

Stories of Memory, Resilience, Survival: At IFFI 2025 yesterday in Goa, audiences were treated to a rare glimpse into the lives of people often left on the margins— through the cinematic lenses of Colombia and Mozambique. The press interaction with the makers of ‘Forensics’ and ‘Ku Handza’ offered a masterclass in storytelling that is as much about memory and resilience as it is about art, an official statement from the organisers of the festival stated.

Federico Atehortúa Arteaga’s ‘Forensics’ is a bold, experimental film that threads three narratives together: a female director reconstructing the life of a deceased transgender woman, filmmaker’s family grappling with a missing relative and the testimony of forensic pathologist Karen Quintero.

The result is a film where the personal becomes political, exploring Colombia’s turbulent past and the scars left by disappearances.

Federico spoke passionately about the real-life connections that drive his work. “This is the story of many in Columbia. Everyone in the country knows someone who has gone missing. After the screenings of this movie, people would raise their hands saying, ‘My uncle, my brother…’ Some even cried,” he recalled, “It’s humbling to see a story reach people in such a deep way.

For Federico, the research done for the film was as challenging as it was vital, and the film became a platform for those searching for the disappeared to find a sense of solidarity.

Across the globe, ‘Ku Handza’, produced by Jacinta Maria De Barros Da Mota Pinto and Rui César De Oliveira Simões, brought a different flavour of reality.

Set in Mozambique, the film follows ordinary people navigating extraordinary circumstances: Benjamin scrambling to fund his son’s birthday, Filimone balancing family and wartime duties and Eulália returning to work at a landfill just days after giving birth.

Jacinta explained that the film’s authenticity comes from its people, as they are not actors but real lives woven into a cinematic narrative. “Mozambique became a second home for the director. We wanted to portray these lives honestly, as if we were one among them,” she said.

Both films, though rooted in distinct realities, converge in their ability to give voice to the unheard. ‘Forensics’ unpacks the grief and political turmoil of Colombia, while ‘Ku Handza’captures the resilience and everyday heroism of Mozambican life.

(Image courtesy singer Gopi’s Instagram handle)