One glittering affair

The 14th Kolkata Film Festival is keeping city celebs busy alright what with a host of unusual films to watch everyday.
But what is a film festival minus glamorous after-parties? While quite a few of such parties have had city celebs turn up in hordes, the grandest of them all is just waiting to happen on November 17 at the ITC The Sonar, Kolkata. To be hosted by HM Bangur, chairman of The Bengal and managing director of Shree Cement, the concluding dinner of the film festival has been a rather talked-about affair, involving discussions and planning that was evident from the team member meeting of The Bengal that was held at The Conclave on Tuesday.
Board members of The Bengal include names like writer Sunil Gangopadhyay, author Nabaneeta Dev Sen, footballer Chuni Goswami, theatre personality Dolly Basu, danseuse Dona Ganguly, director Goutam Ghose, singer Usha Uthup, social activist Sundeep Bhutoria, Dr Md Mansoor Alam and actor Roopa Ganguly. At the gathering, one got a glimpse of the model, Bengal Village, which will be the theme at the Sunderbans of the ITC Hotel. ���Our idea is to present rich folk music, art, culture and handicrafts of our state to the international delegates,��� said HM Bangur. While the programme will open with live vocal recitals by
well- known artistes like Kaushiki Desikan, Suuchandra and Vikas Sharma, there will be dance performances by Rituparna Sengupta, Koneenicaa Banerjee alongside other Tolly celebrities.
An added attraction is Koel Mallick���s debut classical performance. These apart, actor Chaiti Ghoshal will be performing along with Dibyendu from Mumbai who will be singing Latin American and English numbers. And this action-packed evening will have Mir as the MC. ���We would like to give a flavour of each and every tone of music to the guests,��� said Sundeep Bhutoria, social activist and secretary general of the
organisation, adding further, ���It will be an unforgettable evening consisiting of Sufi songs by Sayantan Bhowmik and Muni Begum ghazals to be performed by Jayathi Bhattacharya.���
While president of the the organisation, Sunil Gangopadhyay was heard sharing his views with the other board members, Nabaneeta Dev Sen, working president of the organisation was all smiles as she said, ���Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi will also grace the evening.��� Baisakhi, who is generating the model Bengal Village at the venue, quipped, ���I am making an effort to showcase handicrafts from all divisions of West Bengal.��� Now, that���s what you call gearing up for a party.