India Non Fiction Festival 2013

“Our country does not have a strong enough political leader to even go up against an Italian housewife”. Ms. Tavleen Singh This was a 'strong enough' statement made by Ms. Tavleen Singh at the Inaugural Session of the India Non Fiction Festival being held at Mumbai. The theme of the festival is 'Be Bold Stay Real'. The keynote speakers elaborated about the theme of the festival in their own unique way. While Mr. Kiran Karnik reiterated that in India we have no choice but to be bold and hence stay real while talking about the problem of social sustainability; it was Mr. R Jagannathan who said that the theme of Be Bold Stay Real is wasted on Indians as we have to be bold and very real as the survival in our country is an effort for all of us; and Prof. Vivek Dahejia added that the country’s youth are bold but they are stymied by institutions which hold them back.

When it comes to being bold, how can one not talk about the digital age and this age's gadgets. Talking about some fun tricks you can use for your electronic devices, discussing cyber crime and the question of privacy with Mr. Suresh Venkat, Ankit Fadia also made a mention of the cool interesting things you can do with your smartphone, social media and much more.

Mahesh Bhatt, the celebrated film-maker, presided over the panel on Bold Cinema for Real India. Apart from that the session‘India: Real Consumers, Markets and Bold Brands’ witnessed a conversation between bestselling Authors, Branding and India experts Mr. Santosh Desai and Mr. Anand Halve. In a parallel session ‘Leadership in Imperfect Times: Daring. Spirited’, author and founder Chairman of Prasanna Trust, Shri Swami Sukhobodhananda and leadership author Dr. A K Khandelwal were in heated discussion with author, TataLog and MD of Tata Global Beverages, Mr. Harish Bhat.

The festival also witnessed the launch of the book 'Directors Cut: 50 Major Filmmakers of the Modern Era’. The book penned down by Mr. M K Raghavendra and was introduced by renowned film director, producer and screenwriter Mr. Mahesh Bhatt. In attendance at the event and giving their support were Writer and Director Mr. Sanjay Gadhvi, Actors Mr. Rahul Bose and Ms. Minissha Lamba along with Critic and author Ms. Bhawana Somaaya.

See more photographs of the event here: INDIA NON FICTION FESTIVAL - 2013