Panaji: It has been a week of fun, frolic, parties and cinema, but the latter has often been overshadowed by the controversy over whether Goa would be chosen as a permanent venue for the International Film Festival (IFFI) of India.

Claims and counter claims have been made regarding Goa's status as the permanent venue, with Union I&B Minister Jaipal Reddy saying the State had not yet been finalised to host next year's event.

But Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar reiterated that the picturesque ambience, state-of-the-art infrastructure and the film fraternity's support will make it impossible for the festival to be held anywhere else.

Bollywood certainly has been vocal about its approval of the beach paradise as permanent venue for IFFI, with everyone from Subhash Ghai, Amitabh Bachchan, Shyam Benegal and Dilip Kumar voting in favour of Goa.

"Finally we have been emancipated from the babudom of Delhi. Watching movies on the beach is an experience in itself, and I am so glad that IFFI has come to Goa", film maker Vidhu Vinod Chopra said at a function this week.

Beach cinema has been one of the huge hits of IFFI this year, and though technically it has nothing to do with the festival, it has attracted massive crowds. Started off by the Goa Government to involve the locals in the event, a plasma screen was put up at the nearby Miramar beach and blockbuster movies are being screened every evening.