‘Avakai’ festival to celebrate Telugu cinema, culture in Vijayawada from January 8

The Andhra Pradesh government has announced that the Amaravati Festival of Cinema, Culture and Literature, popularly called ‘Avakai’, will be held in Vijayawada from January 8 to 10.

Addressing the media at the Secretariat on December 22, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Cinematography Kandula Durgesh said the festival would be organised at Punnami Ghat and Bhavani Island, with a focus on Telugu cinema and literature, while responding to the growing national interest in regional storytelling.

Envisioned by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, the festival will be organised by the A.P. Tourism Authority and produced by Teamwork Arts. The three-day event will feature music, dance and theatre performances, panel discussions, puppetry, poetry readings, mushaira sessions in Telugu and Urdu, and theatre workshops. Visitors can also take part in heritage trails, ferry rides, interactive installations and curated culinary experiences, according to a press note issued by the department.

Mr. Chandrababu Naidu is likely to inaugurate the festival along with Mr. Kandula Durgesh, Ambassador of the European Union to India H. E. Herve Delphin and Managing Director of Teamwork Arts Sanjoy K. Roy. The opening performances will include Her Frames, Her Fire by Omaggio Performing Company, followed by The Music, Masti and the Magic, a musical created for ‘Avakai’, directed by Sanjoy K. Roy and choreographed by Gilles Chuyen.

The festival will also showcase works by StoryHour UK and Rasa United, besides poetry sessions featuring Azhar Iqbal, Iqbal Ashhar, Khushbir Singh Shaad, Nusrat Mehdi, Mrunalini, Popular Meruthi, Saif Nizami and Sardar Saleem. Aaj Rang Hai, a special collaboration, will bring together the Nizami Bandhu and the Anirudh Varma Collective.

Workshops led by master practitioners such as Tuhon Aditya Roy, Nathoo Lal Solanki, Shameem and Gilles Chuyen will be conducted to encourage learning and cultural exchange. Live performances will also be part of the programme.

Acclaimed crime writer S. Hussain Zaidi, filmmaker Sudhir Mishra and screenwriter and novelist Yandamuri Veerendranath will take part in a discussion titled Pure Evil: Anti-Heroes of Cinema.