Naseeruddin, Ratna to bring alive magic of theatre at Mountain Echoes lit fest

The Eastern Himalayas will come alive with theatrical tales as veteran actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah will bring to life the many facets of Indian theatre at the upcoming Moutain Echoes Literary festival.

The festival, scheduled to begin on August 23 in the Bhutanese capital of Thimpu, will see Ratna take the audience through the evolution of theatre, giving them a glimpse of its current 21st century avatar with fellow actor Sanjana Kapoor.

In a separate session, she will team up with her husband for what promises to be a once in a lifetime experience for audiences.

"The two will bring to life a series of Vikram Seth's poems from the 'Beastly Stories' collection and James Thurber's short stories," organisers said.

The Shahs will also be part of a roundtable discussion that will shed light on both India and Bhutan's culture of cinema.

Also, part of the discussion will be members of the Bhutanese film industry, including Kunga Tenzin Dorji, Tandin Bidha, Chencho Dorji, Dechen Roder and Druksel Dorji, as well as other Indian actors like Vani Tripathi and L Somi Roy.

In its ninth edition, the festival will host over 35 sessions by stalwarts in different fields from across the world, over the course of three days and five venues.

An initiative of the India Bhutan Foundation and Indian literary agency, Siyahi, the festival, this year, will also celebrate 50 years of Bhutan-India ties.

The shared history of the two nations will manifest itself in the form of an engaging tete-a-tete between Bhutan's Ambassador to India, General V Namgyel and his Indian counterpart Jaideep Sarkar.

"Mountain Echoes is an exuberant celebration of cultural connectivities, resonating with the joys of books and cinema, the shared narratives of music and folklore, food and sport, as well as deep spiritual perspectives, and the challenges of our changing world," Namita Gokhale, co-founder of the festival, said.

The Mountain Echoes Literary Festival will come to a close on August 25.