from daijiworld's special correspondent

Panaji, Nov 26: The organizers of International film festival of India (IFFI), 2006, are busy in a cover-up operation following a major blunder in the festival brochure.

The book which enlists details of the festival underway in Goa since November 23, has printed the picture of renowned Kannada director Girish Kasaravalli in place of the late matinee idol Dr Rajkumar in the homage section.

The official brochure, which was circulated only on Sunday, the fourth day of the festival, shows a colour photograph of a smiling Kasaravalli under the heading "homage."

The content on the page, however, correctly mentions the late Dr Rajkumar and his 1972 film "Bangarada Manushya", which is being shown in the Homage section.

The organizers were seen busy covering at the last minute for the error. An apology from Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) CEO Nandini Paliwal, issued late evening, reads: "Due to an inadvertent mistake, Girish Kasaravalli's photograph has appeared in place of veteran Kannada superstar Dr Rajkumar in the Homage Section (page 153) of the IFFI 2006 Festival Brochure."

"The error is deeply regretted and we apologize for the same," she adds.

The brochure, which came only on Sunday, the fourth day of the festival, is edited by Ethel Da Costa of ESG, the Goa government agency that is also its publisher.

The incident is likely to further the bitterness amongst the Kannada filmmakers who have been condemning the IFFI official video terming it as a Bollywood video which neglects regional cinema.