Bollywood splash at Thimpu literary fest

New Delhi: Bollywood is set to make a splash at the upcoming literature festival in Thimphu that seeks to explore and celebrate the rich literary culture of both India and Bhutan.

Mountain Echoes 2011 literary festival put together by the India-Bhutan Foundation will see the participation of several filmstars producers and directors from Bollywood known to produce the maximum number of movies every year.

Under the section "Screeplay to Screen", the festival will showcase the literary side of actor R Madhavan, who is also an avid reader. He would interact with author Shobhaa De and producer Rohan Sippy, whose any credible attempts to bring live on celluloid the lives of contemporary Indians, have fast established him as an avant-garde film-maker.

Madhavan who essayed the role of a pilot on a bride hunting spree in India in his last flick "Tanu Weds Manu" has also been part of big Bollywood blockbusters like "3 Idiots."

Another Bollywood presence is Jaideep Sahni who registered his presence by composing the best dialogue and story of cult movie "Company" that unravelled the life of the underworld and thereafter played on the pulse of the Indian audience with "Chak De! India."

Sahni would chair the session "Words on Reels" at the second edition of the five-day festival that begins on May 20.

Director-actor-writer Imtiaz Ali who gave box office successes like "Jab We Met" and "Love Aaj Kal" and who is currently working on his new venture "Rockstar" would conduct a workshop on script writing for audience in an interactive session "Freeze Frame."

"There are ten for every one reason you ask of me to attend this festival; lights, camera, action is not just a phrase symbolic of stardom. It is a phrase that brings to life the stories of many unsung heroes and brings a moment of cheer of many hard working Indians who turn to cinema for an evening of entertainment after a long day of struggle," says Kapur.

Lyricists Gulzaar and Javed Akthar will participate in this year?s festival, which will also see the presence of Indian authors Samit Basu, Namita Devidayal, Shobaa De, Valmik Thapar and Devdutt Pattanaik.

?We are going to have several well-known names from Bhutan and India as well as countries like China, Singapore, and Philippines etc,? said Kapur. Other celebrities expected include Pulitzer-winning American author Kai Bird.

The festival that enjoys the patronage of Bhutan?s queen mother Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck has been conceptualised by Pavan Varma, India?s ambassador to Bhutan.

As a special treat, participants will be able to enjoy Ananda Dhara: The Stream of Joy, a choreography based on select songs of Rabindranath Tagore and a performance by Vivek Rajagopalan?s quartet.

The themes this year include the need and importance of preserving languages; oral traditions; the contemporary art of science fiction; story writing; ballads; fantasy fiction, among others. Organisers are positioning the festival as a tourism cum literary festival aiming to provide a platform for authors to engage in cultural dialogue and celebrate tales of a shared landscape in the Himalayan region.