Film, they say, is a labour of love but the un-creative business of organising a film festival can be a labour of love too. Earlier this year, the Mumbai Film Festival turned to the city's film lovers with a plea for financial support and fittingly for the country's film capital, the response was like something out of a blockbuster's script. The hashtag "Pledge4MAMI" saw enormous response from people who were determined to ensure MFF happened in 2014 and most encouragingly for the festival organisers, Bollywood rallied for MFF even though the festival is not a platform for commercial cinema.

In just a few years, MFF has established itself as one of the best film festivals in Asia. Year after year, the organisers have brought to Mumbai some of the finest examples of world cinema, ranging from prize winners to lesser-known indie films that have made critics do a delighted double take. Traditionally, makers and lovers of masala films have rarely been part of film festivals, but in 2014, MFF looks ready to bring the two strains together.

Film critic Anupama Chopra, Creative Director for the festival this year and chief campaigner for MFF's survival, believes that the 'art versus masala' divide in Indian cinema doesn't really apply to what's happening in the industry today.

"You can't have a film festival in Mumbai by leaving Bollywood out of it," said Chopra, pointing out that the actors and filmmakers who have been promoting and supporting MFF needed no prompting to do so.

"They came to me and asked, 'What can I do?' and they got involved in every way they can." Which is why this year, MFF has a promo, made by Shakun Batra, featuring the likes of Sonakshi Sinha, Varun Dhawan, Arjun Kapoor and Siddharth Malhotra.

Bollywood's participation is obvious when you go through the MFF schedule. Varun Dhawan is presenting Richard Linklater's Boyhood. Deepika Padukone will be in conversation with Catherine Deneuve. Raju Hirani, Imtiaz Ali, Dibakar Banerjee, Anurag Kashyap, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Vishal Bharadwaj are just a few of the Bollywood names that will appear on different days. They're either presenting films they've loved over the years or will be part of panel discussions, like the Film Companion Round Table and Director's Choice series. (Film Companion is Chopra's YouTube channel.)

"I think actors, directors, they all want to have more textured conversation with the audience and that's what we're trying to create," said Chopra.

"When people pick films, it tells you something about them. We wanted to create more dialogue, bring the audience closer. After all, the motto is 'It's My Festival'."

For some, it may be a little disheartening to realise that in India, the survival of a film festival ultimately depends upon Bollywood. Chopra, however, holds up Cannes Film Festival as an example of commercial glamour and artistic cinematic excellence co-existing amicably. The organisers' hope is that MFF, with its Bollywood champions, will become something similar.

The aim with MFF this year is, in Chopra's words, "to make the festival sexy". With Bollywood coming out in support, the opening promises to be a star-studded event and the hope is that this, along with the other celebrity-supported events in MFF's schedule, will help the festival find a sponsor. Crowdsourcing may have worked this time, but it's not a sustainable business model. However, concerns about the 2015 edition of MFF are on the back burner for now. At the moment, everyone's getting ready for a week-long cinema binge. Let the films begin.