The third edition of this unique festival promises to bring renowned names from different fields together for engaging and creative discussions, writes Ananya Borgohain
The third edition of the Great Indian Film and literature Festival is all set to start on December 2, 2016 at DlF Cyber Hub, Gurgaon. The festival that started in 2015 will see renowned artists of both the Indian film industry as well as the literary fraternity participating in it. Scheduled to start at 12 noon and go on till 11 pm, GIFlIF will note the presence of personalities such as Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Subhash Ghai, Prakash Jha, Ruskin Bond, Kiran Nagarkar, Piyush Mishra, Raj Shekhar (lyricist - Tanu Weds Manu), Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Juhi Chaturvedi (Writer - Piku & Vicky Donor), Major General GD Bakshi, Anjum Rajaballi (Writer - Rajneeti & Aarakshan), Annurag Batra, Anand Neelakantan, Sharat Katariya (Director - Dum laga Ke Haisha), Rajkumar Gupta (Director - No one killed Jessica, Aamir), Rahul Roushan (Founder, Faking News), Arunabh (Founder - TVF), and many more.
Speaking about the festival, Prakash Jha, says, “This festival sees the merger of literature and cinema. I think GIFlIF understands the language of cinema.” Jha will be a part of a discussion with Subhash Ghai in a panel titled, ‘Painting the 70mm Canvas’.
The three day-long festival intends to “showcase the vernacular spirit of Indian film and literature”. That entails a play and a music concert besides active sessions on varied themes ranging from filmmaking, digital media, advertising, publishing, literature, script writing and film screening. Book readings, Kavi Sammelan, and a poetry finale are also scheduled to be organised during the event.
In fact, on November 13, Team GIFlIF also organised a preliminary round of poetry contest. This contest, which was carried out in the rapid metro at Gurgaon, will have its final round on the last day of the event. Besides that, Rajat Kapoor has also written and directed a performance based on Shakespeare's King lear for the festival. Vinay Pathak is also said to be a part of the same. lyricist Raj Shekhar will deliver a performance of poetry on guitar and Piyush Mishra will launch his band, Ballimaaraan.
“Our band will showcase its very first performance on the 4th. It will be the concluding event of the festival”, says Mishra. He adds, “This festival makes it possible for people from different fields to come together and attend it, as well as to engage creatively. Its diversity shows the construction of our society. It is not confined to literature or films or music alone. It’s not rukha. It’s an exciting mix.”
Amit Sinha, co-founder of GIFlIF, says “SBI card GIFlIF is all set for the third edition of the festival after the successful execution of previous Gurgaon and Bhopal chapter, respectively in the year 2015 and 2016. The second edition of Gurgaon chapter has added few more dimensions to entire gamut of the festival. Film and literature festivals were happening in isolation and came the idea of creating a synergy of both the forms of expression and expected it to create new bridges in connecting people and an entertainment value with intellectual stimulation at the core”.