Jaipur Literature Festival 2017 has been as wonderful as one would have expected the 10th edition of this grandest-of-grand festival to be. Adding to a mesmerising inaugural were a slew of notable and world-renowned speakers whose presence have bolstered the fanfare and the craze for this festival which lingers in the heart of not only Jaipurites but people from all over India and the world at large. Litewrally the world at large!
Enjoying a heavy surname, Aishwarya Rajnikant Dhanush had captured the day with her exemplary charm and aura. She shed light on her debut book: Standing on an Apple Box. Young girls and ladies were categorically insoired and motivated to lead a life of purpose and giving.
The ace actor, Rishi Kapoor spelled out that he first played a cameo in his father’s film Mera Naam Joker, which won him a National Award. He collected his memories with Raj Kapoor. He also shared an instance when while shooting for the song Main Shayar Toh Nahin from Bobby, he wasn’t provided with a dance master and was asked to create and choreograph his own moves. He said, “It was the biggest lesson of my life. He said a dance master would teach me to do what had already been done, but he did not want me to copy Rajesh Khanna or Amitabh Bachchan but rather to develop my own style.”
The viral internet sensation, Mallika Dua was as eccentric and quirky that she has always been. There were gripping counters which the host, Suhel Seth and Mallika kept on throwing for self-defence apparently. When Suhel recommended Mallika to tag with Mamata Banerjee, Mallika retaliated by saying, “If I were yo club with DIDI (Mamata), then you should club with the Kim Kardashian. She is nothing short of a born-nautanki.
7Gulzar brightened up the first day of JLF 201. He was noted saying, “I am afraid of sitting on that chair on which my legs don’t touch the ground.”
Javed Akhtar attached various strings to the nuances of Bollywood cinema. He also spelled out that to diminish our present day morality, the iconic figures play a paramount role.
The notable singer, lyricist Prasoon Joshi was a delight to watch. Referring to Poetry, he said, ‘What gives meaning to life can’t be peddled as a product’. Yuva Ekta Foundation trustee Puneeta Roy unabashedly raised her query as to what this meant for his advertising career, to which Joshi replied, ‘There is a transparency to advertising: it never tries to hide its intent. But look at the media instead, who in the name of news, print paid things.’
