By Frederick Noronha, IANS

Goa is getting a hurried fresh coat of paint ahead of the 11-day International Film Festival of India (IFFI) beginning here Thursday that promises to pack in hours of sheer entertainment and fun.

The 37th IFFI, ending Dec 3, is showcased as "India's Cannes" and is expected to bring in crowds of film buffs, say organisers.

Goa has been host to the annual festival since 2004 and is now the permanent venue.

The event will be launched with a carnival-like parade alongside the riverfront in state capital Panaji.

Film bazaars, children's workshops, street animation, music concerts and open air beach screenings will accompany the movies and lure in those disappointed with the already-scarce "delegate" passes. Organisers are promising about 240 hours of "sheer entertainment and fun".

But residents near the venue are upset over a garbage-dumping site and have vowed to carry out protests.

Goa's IFFI celebrations this year aren't on the same high note as had been in its first year when then Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister Manohar Parrikar took personal interest.

This year's festival will include a competition for feature films by Asian, African and Latin American directors.

Organisers expect the festival to provide a "common platform" for the filmmakers of the world to project their excellence in film art, contribute to appreciation of different film cultures, and of course promote friendship.

Thursday evening inaugural will witness an air display by the Indian Navy's Sagar Pawan Formation Acrobatic Team involving three indigenous Kiran jets.

The chief guest will be Shashi Kapoor, scion of the influential Kapoor film dynasty of Bollywood. The guests of honour will be popular Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor and Bengali film actor Prosenjit Chatterjee.

Stars expected for the opening include Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Bipasha Basu, Dia Mirza, Malaika Arora Khan, Soha Ali Khan and Esha Deol (all from Bollywood), Prabhu Deva (south India), Manoj Tiwari (Bhojpuri film industry), Marathi actors Sachin and Supriya and Harbajan Mann of Punjab.

IFFI's local host in Goa is the Entertainment Society of Goa, which was set up by the state government in 2004. Its goal is to frame an entertainment policy and to help cultivate Goa into a world-class international entertainment nerve centre of the country.

Goa, argues the state government, has a reputation as a tourist destination with its unique flavour of European lifestyle co-existing with multi-cultural ethnic sensibilities. Goa was a Portuguese colony for 1510-1961.

Since 1952, India has hosted 36 IFFIs, both competitive and non-competitive. "