Eminent Bangladeshi director Tanvir Mokammel's latest work Lalon is one of the 15 films that have been entered in the Asian Competition section, the most significant part of the ten-day festival, where thespian Dilip Kumar will inaugurate the ceremony.

Leading Indian director Mani Ratnam, who has made films like Roja, Bombay and Yuva, will head a five-member jury which includes German film-maker Florian Gallenberge, Egyptian actor and UNICEF goodwill ambassador Mahmoud Kabil, Locarno Film Festival Director Irene Bignardi and Senegalese writer-director Moussa Sena.

The Indian entries to the Asian competitive section are Anjan Dutt's Bow Barracks Forever and Marathi film Shwaas, a poignant story of a boy suffering from visual impairment, which is also India's official entry in this year's Oscars in the foreign language film category. Shwaas, directed by debutante Sandeep Sawant, won the national award for the best feature film for 2003.

The Asian section also has films Shanghai Story and Endless Way from China, Beautiful City from Iran, Israel's Walk on Water and Thailand's Beautiful Boxer which will vie for awards like the Golden Peacock and Silver Peacock.

Since this is the 50th year of maestro Satyajit Ray's epoch-making film Pather Panchali, the festival will pay a special tribute to him.

Among other major categories of the festival are Cinema of the World, which will have 60 films from 40 countries released in the last two years, Indian and foreign retrospectives, Indian Panorama and Indian mainstream.

The inaugural film of the festival is American director of Indian origin Mira Nair's Vanity Fair, based on English novelist William M Thackeray's classic novel set in early 19th century England. Screening of Oliver Stone's Alexander, branded as the costliest Hollywood shot this year, will bring down the curtain on December 8.

A number of films will have their premieres at the coming festival including American Delight of Roger Christian, The Incredibles of Brad Bir, The Forgotten of Jospeh Ruben and Indian film-maker Manu Rewal's Chaai Paani.

A retrospective of films by Burkina Faso's director Jean Marie Gaston Kabore, who is credited with bringing Africa on international cinema map in a big way, will also be held at the festival. Tributes will be paid to veteran Indian film personalities like late Mehmood, Yash Johar, Nargis Dutt, Vijay Anand and Bhavendranath Saikia.

The grandeur of Indian music will be brought alive by AR Rahman accompanied by a full orchestra consisting of nearly 60 musicians at the inaugural ceremony.