Imtiaz Ali speaks at the closing ceremony of the sixth edition of Dehradun Literature Festival held at Doon International School, Curzon Road. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

“Like every love story, a good literature festival never ends,” said film director, producer and screenwriter Imtiaz Ali at the closing ceremony of the sixth edition of the Dehradun Literature Festival held at Doon International School, Curzon Road.

Ali, patron and festival patron of the three-day festival running from 8-10 November, also commented on the series of panels and diversity of the speakers, which included Jerry Pinto, William Dalrymple, Shabana Azmi, Rajit Kapoor. , Trinetra, Namita Dubey, Dr. Tanaya Narendra and Abhinav Bindra among many others.

Some of the highlights of the program were Young, Fit and Strong – Elements of Holistic DevelopmentA conversation between Abhinav Bindra and Jyotika Bedi; Scripts for Scrubs – Trinetra StoryWhich featured Trinetra’s conversation with Namita Dubey; From Love to Madness – Laila Majnu’s Fate Directed by Preeti Ali, Sajid Ali and Avinash Tiwari and book by Sandhya Mridul released indomitable, In which the actor discussed his first poetry collection with Shabana Azmi, Leena Yadav and Maria Goretti. Ali said, “I was really encouraged to come here this time because I think the number of panelists, the kind of panels that happened… everything that I could and couldn’t see was really amazing. ”

He congratulated the team behind the festival before speaking briefly Laila MajnuA contemporary take on ancient folklore written by him, the film is directed by Sajid Ali and co-produced by Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor and Preity Ali. “Definitely, a film came out of the grave and showed itself because the audience wanted it that way,” he says, pointing to the fact that a film first released in September 2018 got a re-release this year. Was. “This is the power of democracy; This is the power of the people,” says Ali.

He also explains very well the reasons behind making his films. “Film and literature are enduring things,” he says. “We will die, but our stories will live on. Film is permanent; Life is temporary. Literature is permanent; Pain is temporary,” he reiterates, before elaborating on the irrationality and love that fuel storytelling and art. “Everything is logical; In five years, AI will do it,” he says. “Sometimes you have to believe in something that’s beyond the rational, that’s why you do literary festivals.”