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Javed Akhtar, Vishal Bhardwaj among speakers at Jashn-e-Rekhta

Javed Akhtar, Vishal Bhardwaj among speakers at Jashn-e-Rekhta

File photo (Credit: Rekhta Foundation)

File photo (Credit: Rekhta Foundation)

New Delhi : The fifth edition of Jashn-e-Rekhta, scheduled to take place here from December 14 to 16 will feature a stellar line-up of authors, artists, singers and personalities from the film industry including Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi and Vishal Bhardwaj.

The 2018 edition of the annual event will be inaugurated on December 14 evening with an address by Morari Bapu, who is not only an exponent of Ram Charit Manas but is also known for his understanding of Urdu poetry.

Celebrated actor and anchor Annu Kapoor, through a musical tribute, will uncover the poetical genius of Majrooh Sultanpuri in honour of the centenary of his birth.

Scholars Shamsur Rahman Faruqi and Mahmood Farooqui will discuss the literary brilliance of Intizar Hussain in a panel discussion on “The World of Intizar Hussain: Partition, Nostalgia and Mythology in Urdu Literary Culture”.

Another session on saint Kabir will be led by writer and novelist Purushottam Agarwal, while Urdu professor Gopi Chand Narang will participate in “Faiz Ke Teen Ishq”.

The three-day cultural event will be held at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium near India Gate here.

It will mark the celebration of Urdu’s eclectic art forms and its heritage through ghazals, Sufi music, qawwali, dastangoi, panel discussions, poetry symposiums and film screenings.

—IANS

Indian film industry is citadel of secularism: Javed Akhtar

Indian film industry is citadel of secularism: Javed Akhtar

Javed Akhtar

Javed Akhtar

Mumbai : The Indian film industry is a citadel of secularism where there’s no scope for communal bias, says veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar.

“I had joined the film industry in 1965 on a salary of 50 rupees a month. In these 53 years, not for a second I have experienced or even seen any communal bias in our industry. This film industry is the citadel of secularism. Bigots, don’t try to pollute it,” Akhtar tweeted on Wednesday.

Akhtar’s comment comes amid a raging debate which got sparked by a social media user’s tweet questioning Bollywood star Aamir Khan’s right to play Lord Krishna in the actor’s proposed screen version of the “Mahabharata”.

When a Twitter user questioned Akhtar on the correlation of Rs 50 and secularism, the critically acclaimed writer commented: “This is to establish that even when I was economically in a very humble and socially in a very vulnerable position, then too I didn’t feel any discrimination at least on any communal grounds.”

—IANS

Indian film industry is citadel of secularism: Javed Akhtar

All kinds of religious people are equally unreasonable: Javed Akhtar

Javed Akhtar

Javed Akhtar

Mumbai : Irked by a social media user who asked him if Shia and Sunni were different religions, veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar on Thursday said all kinds of religious people were “equally unreasonable”.

He made the comment as part of a chain of tweets after the social media user asked Akhtar: “Is Shia and Sunni different religions Javed Akhtar? #JustAsking.”

The celebrated writer, who is quite vocal about his views on socio-political issues, said: “Your question about Shia and Sunni reminds me of a very famous dialogue from a film ‘Gone With The Wind’. And it was, ‘Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn’.”

Journalist Arnab Goswami joined the conversation by questioning Akhtar: “But where is the answer!”

Akhtar wrote: “It is for them to decide whether they are from the same religion or not. Doesn’t interest me. So what if they are and so what if they are not. I believe all kind of religious people are equally unreasonable. Is that clear enough Arnabji or the nation still wants to know some thing.”

On that, Goswami hit out at Akhtar saying: “Easiest way to escape (run away) from question that don’t suit you. Otherwise you are badly known for unwanted advice, decision and conclusions. And yes, the nation still wants to know many things but that you would not like to face for sure.”

Akhtar also got engaged in a Twitter argument with another user who raised a question on the feasibility of having “Aamir Khan, a Muslim, play (a part) in most ancient and sacred of Hindu epics, the Mahabharata”.

Akhtar abused the user, asking him “which foreign agency is paying you to spread this kind of perverse and poisonous thoughts in our country”.

—IANS

Indian film industry is citadel of secularism: Javed Akhtar

Indian society becoming regressive, freedom of expression shrinking: Javed Akhtar

Javed AkhtarBy Milinda Ghosh Roy,

Kolkata : Poet-lyricist-script writer Javed Akhtar has warned that the room for creativity or freedom of expression, which has been the ethos of Indian democracy, is shrinking and called for taking lessons from the “pathetic condition” of some neighbouring countries where such extremism was prevalent.

Akhtar, who has in the past faced the wrath of fundamentalists and trolls for his opinions on the social media, regretted that Indian society was becoming “more regressive”.

“It is very unfortunate but true that as a society we are becoming more regressive. The elbow room for creativity, literature, cinema or for any kind of point of view is shrinking and that is not advisable at all.

“I think we should be careful about it. Because, look at the condition of regressive societies, where such extremism is an accepted norm. Do we want to emulate them? Just look across, we do not have to go very far,” Akhtar, married to actress and theatre artist Shabana Azmi, told IANS.

“India has a democratic environment that is absent up to the Middle East. Why? What is so special about India that we could have democracy? Because it is an accepted norm in our society that people can have different beliefs, different Gods.

“Now, some forces are trying to put this society into a straitjacket, much like the way some of the other societies are,” he warned.

(Milinda Ghosh Roy can be contacted at milinda.r@ians.in )

—IANS