BNZ Diwali rolls out Bollywood red carpet as Meenakshi Sheshadri revisits Damini in Auckland
Bollywood actress Meenakshi Sheshadri poses at the red carpet for the launch of Bollywood Cinema Showcase by BNZ Diwali in Auckland on October 8, 2026. (Supplied photo)
A Screen Auckland-backed cinema showcase is bringing South Asian films into Auckland theatres as part of this year’s Diwali celebrations.
Meenakshi Sheshadri had not planned to stay for the screening of Damini in Auckland on Thursday night. But the Bollywood actor changed her mind, sat through the 1993 film with the audience and, by the end, had tears in her eyes.
Sheshadri told those gathered at Event Cinemas St Lukes that it was the first time in more than two decades that she had watched Damini on the big screen.
The moment turned what could have been a ceremonial red-carpet appearance into something more personal, as she revisited one of the defining films of her career alongside an Auckland audience.
The screening opened the 'Indian Cinema Showcase', a new component of the BNZ Auckland Diwali Festival backed by Screen Auckland and Auckland Council Events and delivered by Forum Films in partnership with Event Cinemas.
It is the first time a dedicated Indian and South Asian cinema programme has been built into the wider festival, extending Auckland’s Diwali celebrations beyond the main event days and into commercial cinemas through October and early November.
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This year’s BNZ Auckland Diwali Festival will be held on October 31 and November 1 at Aotea Square and Queen Street in central Auckland.
Earlier in the evening on October 8, Sheshadri walked the red carpet in a blue-green sari, posed for photographs and took part in a conversation about her career and the continuing legacy of Damini.
Forum Films director Pritesh Raniga also presented her with a Legend of Indian Cinema Award. For Raniga, the showcase is about recognising how central cinema is to South Asian cultural life.
“Indian cinema is such a big part of how our communities experience culture, language and identity, so it felt natural to bring it into Auckland’s Diwali celebrations in a more meaningful way,” Raniga said.
“The idea is to take Diwali beyond the main festival weekend and give audiences a programme that reflects the diversity of Indian and South Asian cinema. We hope this is the beginning of something that becomes a regular part of Auckland Diwali.”
The cinema strand adds a distinctly Bollywood-style layer to a festival better known for live performances, food, dance, music and large public celebrations.
Auckland Diwali began in 2002 as a one-day event attracting about 1,000 people and has since grown into one of the city’s biggest cultural festivals.
The showcase spans Hindi, Punjabi, Telugu and Nepali cinema, with the Damini opening and a red-carpet screening of Ramayana planned as its two major bookends.
Alongside Damini, the Indian Cinema Showcase will run across Event Cinemas locations in Auckland through October and early November.
The programme includes Drishyam: The Conclusion from October 9–11, Punjabi sports drama Thaapi from October 16–18, and Nayyi Navelli, Daudaak and Nepali film Kabaddi 5 from October 23–25.
The showcase will continue through the BNZ Auckland Diwali Festival weekend on October 30–31 before culminating with Ramayana: Rise of a Legend from November 5–7.
Forum Films has distributed Indian cinema in New Zealand, Australia and Fiji for more than two decades, working with Indian studios, regional-language producers and cinema chains.
For Thursday night’s audience, however, the memorable moment came well before the showcase moved on to its newer releases.
What began with a red carpet and an award ended with Sheshadri watching her younger self on the big screen again, more than 30 years after Damini first reached cinemas.
