But lovers of cinema will have their hands full at the 39th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), with as many as 225 screenings of films from around the world, organisers said.
The ten-day festival, hosted by Goa for the fifth straight year, opens with Peter Chan's "The Warlords", a Chinese war epic set in the 1860s. Chan is also chairman of the festival jury.
Sixty foreign-language films and 80 Indian films are in the line-up, including Bollywood hits like "Jodhaa Akbar" and India's Oscar entry "Taare Zameen Par".
India has looked to build a film festival along the lines of Cannes, turning to Goa to provide a picturesque backdrop to a celebration of cinema. But the festival has been criticised in the past for focussing on Bollywood while ignoring regional-language films from across the country.
Things may be different this year.
"We do have Bollywood as part of the Indian section, but we also have some very interesting films, some of them from first-time directors, in the Indian programming as well," said Bhupendra Kainthola of the Directorate of Film Festivals.
Many celebrities from the Mumbai film industry will not be making the trip to the sun-kissed sands of Goa -- Aamir Khan declined an invitation as did John Abraham, whose film "Little Zizou" is being screened at the festival.
Saturday's opening ceremony is being graced by yesteryear actress Rekha and hosted by Bollywood starlet Amrita Rao.
Highlights of the 2008 festival include a retrospective of films by Wong Ka Wai and Bimal Roy and a special section of films made on the Taj Mahal.
The festival ends with famed Iranian director Majid Majidi's "The Song of the Sparrows", a film also in the running for the Golden Peacock, the top prize. French actress Catherine Denevue will be honoured at the festival.
