The 17th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM 2026) has kicked off on August 13, 2026. On Day 1, the festival hosted the grand opening night and the starry red carpet awards night at the Palais Theatre at St Kilda in Melbourne, with Rani Mukerji, Rishab Shetty, Dulquer Salmaan, Rekha, Kirti Kulhari, Vijay Varma and Rasika Dugal among others taking home the evening’s top honours.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground stadium on the final day of his three-day visit to Australia, where he said that India is striving to host the 2036 Olympics and expressed delight over Chennai hosting the opening fixture of the Big Bash League 2026-27 edition. (Pics/X)