You've heard that Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan will be there. But the big buzz at Nandan is that Kolkata's very own mahaguru — Mithun Chakraborty — will share the stage with the two stars at the opening of the Kolkata Film Festival 2012. It's been heard that after Hope 86, this is the first time Big B and Mithun will be together on stage in Kolkata.

TOI has it from sources that chief minister Mamata Banerjee called up Mithun and invited him personally to the opening ceremony. Mithun confirmed in a text message that he had been invited and would try his best to be present.

There are also big plans to turn the closing ceremony into a spectacular event. The chief minister has herself conceived a dance recital titled Purno Houk Purno Houk Banglar Mati Banglar Jol, which will be choreographed and directed by Sukalyann Bhattacharya and assisted by Saheli Mahapatra. The music will be scored by Joy Sarkar while Lopamudra Mitra will lend her voice to the songs. Madhumonti Moitra will do the narration.

Sukalyann said, "I feel honoured to be part of KFF. Didi (Mamata) wants the closing ceremony to be of international standards. She wants me to do a 10-minute choreographed piece on the song. It will fuse contemporary and folk dance in the form of a ballet that will be a modern take on Bengali culture.

Traditional motifs like haatpakha, nokshi kantha, puppets and alpona will be used." We hear that Tollywood celebrities may perform as special guests at the closing ceremony. Watch this space for more.