Veteran actress Waheeda Rehman was conferred with the first Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year 2013.

"I came here to receive the award, not make a speech. After Amitji's excellent speech I have no words to speak. In the past, I got the opportunity to come to Goa for at least 5/6 times but I couldn't make it. But this time, I'm so fortunate to be here. I'm honored to receive the prestigious award from the government of India. I'm grateful to them, and dedicate the award to all my film producers, directors, technicians and fans," said Superstar Rajnikant when he was presented the Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year at the inaugural ceremony.

Shri Anil Kapoor was the Chief Guest at the opening ceremony for IFFI 2015 while "The Man who Knew Infinity" a British film on Indian mathematician Ramanujans life was the opening film for the year.

Numerous Bollywood celebrities like Nana Patekar, Mahesh Manjrekar, Kunal Kappor, Director of Sultan – Ali Abbas Zafar etc. walked down the red carpet. They also addressed the media during their respective Press Conferences. Enough to say that it was indeed a star-studded affair.

From Shah Rukh Khan gracing the opening to Salman Khan concluding the festival, the 48th IFFI was a truly star studded affair.

With this IFFI, we took a step forward and introduced a separate category 'State of Focus' as a part of the festival, making Jharkhand the first Indian state to receive this focus.

The Golden Jubilee of the festival, the 50th edition of IFFI was truly a special one. At this prestigious occasion, legendary actors Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth were facilitated for their contribution to Arts and Cinema.

With the world at a stands due to the pandemic, the event was held in an experimental hybrid format, continuing the immortal spirit of the festival and worldwide cinema.