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Javed Akhtar to deliver 5th Subhas Ghosal Foundation lecture

The lecture will be delivered on December 19, at the Taj President in Mumbai

The fifth annual Subhas Ghosal Foundation lecture is round the corner and renowned writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar will be the key speaker this time. Speakers in the past include Shyam Benegal, Allen Thomas, Prannoy Roy and Gurcharan Das.

Akhtar will deliver a lecture on ‘Changing Mindsets through Cinema’. Last year, Shyam Benegal spoke on ‘Communications and Culture: Tradition, Modernity and Postmodernism in Indian Cinema’.

Titoo Ahluwalia, founder trustee, Subhas Ghosal Foundation, says, “Javed Akhtar is known for speaking out his heart, not just in his views on cinema, but also other social issues.”

In his speech, Akhtar will explore the role of cinema in secular India and the influence of films in restoring the harmony between communities in a heterogeneous society. Further, he will touch upon whether cinema has helped people respect differences in society and be more tolerant.

Javed Akhtar to deliver 5th Subhas Ghosal Foundation lecture
Javed Akhtar
Son of the well-known Urdu poet and film lyricist, Jan Nissar Akhtar, Javed Akhtar was born in Gwalior. He belongs to a lineage that can be traced back to seven generations of writers. His collaborations with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan for ‘Sangam’, with Jagjit Singh for ‘Silsilay’, and Shankar Mahadevan for his album, ‘Breathless’, won him accolades the world over. However, Akhtar’s best work was during his partnership with Salim Khan. The duo conceived some of the greatest films in Indian cinema during the 1970s and 1980s, such as ‘Zanjeer’, ‘Deewar’, ‘Sholay’, ‘Haathi Mere Saathi’, ‘Seeta Aur Geeta’, ‘Don’ and ‘Trishul’. It was this pair that created Amitabh Bachchan’s Angry Young Man image.

Akhtar has won 14 Filmfare Awards, seven for Best Script and the other seven for Best Lyrics. He has also won five National Awards, as Best Lyricist and three for ‘Saaz’ (1997), ‘Border’ (1998) and ‘Godmother’ (1999). The President of India bestowed him with the Padmashri in 1999.

Around 300 people from the field of advertising, marketing and media are expected to attend the Subhas Ghosal Foundation event. Ahluwalia is confident that the regulars will be there, including Pranesh Misra, Piyush Pandey, Mohammed Khan, Anil Kapoor, Sam Balsara and Ranjan Kapur.

The donor passes, priced at Rs 950, are available at the Ad Club and the Subhas Ghosal Foundation office. The event will take place at 7:30 pm on December 19, 2006 at the Taj President in Mumbai. The key sponsor for the evening is Ananda Bazar Patrika, with agencyfaqs! as the online media partner.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!

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