Mumbai, July 2 (IANS): Actress Vidya Balan, who will be seen as the face of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne for the fourth time in a row, says she will stand for equality and encourage efforts that advocate such causes during the festival.

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne that celebrates Indian cinema internationally will kick start from August 14 and go on till August 27 in Melbourne.

This year the festival theme is equality and Vidya herself has suggested this theme. The festival will provide an opportunity to aspiring filmmakers on the global stage to showcase their craft.

"Equality can be in any form - gender, disability etc.. The first step is awareness and this is our step towards it. I feel very passionate about this and I am happy to extend my hand to any effort which supports and advocates to embrace the diversity that defines us all," Vidya told IANS

The festival will also help in raising funds for the Royal Melbourne Children's Hospital and encourage Indian cinema on a global platform.

Vidya is known for portraying bold and powerful roles in films like "Dirty Picture", "Kahaani", "Parineeta" and was last seen in "Hamari Adhuri Kahani".