Cultural Events Mark 2nd Day of Avakai Amaravati Festival
Blending Telugu heritage with contemporary creativity, the festival offered a rich mix of panel discussions, workshops and spellbinding performances
VIJAYAWADA: The second day of the Avakai Amaravati Festival of Cinema, Culture and Literature unfolded as a vibrant celebration of ideas, art and tradition drawing large audiences to the picturesque Bhavani Island and Punnami Ghat on Friday.
Blending Telugu heritage with contemporary creativity, the festival offered a rich mix of panel discussions, workshops and spellbinding performances.
The day began with the thought-provoking session “Pure Evil: Anti-heroes of Cinema, where S Hussain Zaidi, Yandamuri Veerendranath and Sudhir Mishra, in conversation with Balaji Vittal, examined the evolving portrayal of anti-heroes in Indian cinema and literature.
This was followed by the Evolving Storytelling: The Journey of Indian Mythology, featuring BNIM, Kasturi Muralikrishna, Sanjeev Pasricha and Anuradha Mothali.
Adding a lyrical touch, StoryHour UK presented “Katha Kalakshepam: Timeless Tales through Music and Word, vividly bringing the Ramayanam alive. The literary-cinematic interface continued with “Abhilasha – From Novel to Screen,” as Yandamuri Veerendranath joined veteran filmmaker A Kodandarami Reddy to reflect on adaptations from page to screen.
Interactive workshops infused energy into the afternoon, with French choreographer Gilles Chuyen leading a popular dance workshop. Other sessions included martial arts with Tuhon Aditya Roy, Nagada percussion with maestro Nathoo Lal Solanki, puppet-making with Shameem and Kalamkari art demonstrations celebrating traditional craftsmanship.
The post-lunch panel “Cinema in the Age of OTT” sparked a lively debate, with Leena Yadav, Shibashish Sarkar, Sunil Chainani, Saugata Mukherjee, Supriya Yarlagadda and Shreerupa Mitra discussing digital platforms and shifting audience dynamics.
As dusk descended, Punnami Ghat came alive with soulful Carnatic and devotional music by Chandana Bala Kalyan, a graceful Kuchipudi recital by Vanashree Rao, and “The Sound of Stories” featuring Shekhar Ravjiani and Kasarla Shyam.
The day concluded on a stirring note with the Mushaira Mehfil-e-Sukhan, followed by “Aaj Rang Hai”, a captivating musical collaboration by Anirudh Varma Collective and Nizami Bandhu.
