Naseeruddin Shah-starrer Today's Special, a comedy set in New York City, will open the Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival here on November 11, which will have 47 screenings, including 44 premieres of features, documentaries and short films.

Now in its ninth year, the annual festival till November 15, will present veteran Shyam Benegal's comic take on Indian politics, Well Done Abba and Anurag Kas­hyap's Gulaal. The festival closes with Antaheen - The Endless Wait, starring Shar­mila Tagore and Aparna Sen, both of whom will attend the festival.

Aasif Mandvi's Today's Special is the story of Samir (Aasif himself), a sous chef who dreams of heading his boss's hot new restaurant. There is a twist in his life and Samir is heartbroken before he finds Akbar (Naseeruddin), a taxi driver and former chef in Mumbai, who inspires him to embrace life. Santosh Sivan's Tahaan, about the adventures of a little boy and his pet donkey in militancy-hit Kashmir, is the festival centrepiece on November 13.

MIAAC's star guest list includes Naseeruddin Sh­ah, Sharmila Tagore, Farhan Ahktar, Manisha Koirala, Rahul Bose, Shabana Azmi, Deepti Naval, Madhur Jaffrey, Mira Nair, Javed Akhtar, Shyam Benegal and Buddhadeb Dasgupta.

According to the organisers, the opening, closing and centrepiece films represent the festival's focus, genres, and themes — from independent films to diaspora artists; from New York to the new global India; from social concern to romantic comedy. Another new talent in this year's selections is Raja Menon, who directed Naseeruddin in his debut Barah Anna. Other films include Sudhir Mishra's Ride On Johnny and Joseph Mathew-Varghese's debut venture Bombay Summer.