Alia Bhatt joins 79th BAFTA as presenter; Star-studded lineup takes London stage

Bollywood star Alia Bhatt is set to present an award at the 79th edition of the BAFTA Awards, the British Academy announced on Tuesday.The awards ceremony, officially called the EE BAFTA Film Awards, aims to celebrate excellence in international cinema. It is set to take place on February 22 at London's Royal Festival Hall.The 32-year-old actor is part of a star-studded lineup of guest presenters which also includes Alicia Vikander, Bryan Cranston, Cillian Murphy, Delroy Lindo, Emily Watson, Ethan Hawke, Gillian Anderson, Glenn Close, Hannah Waddingham, Monica Bellucci, Rege-Jean Page, Riz Ahmed, and Stellan Skargard.Besides Bhatt, filmmaker Lakshmipriya Devi, whose Manipuri-language film "Boong" has been nominated in the best children's and family film category, will also attend the ceremony."Boong", which narrates the story of a young boy named Boong (Gugun Kipgen), from the valley of Manipur, who plans to surprise his mother with a gift, is backed by actor-producer Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani through their banner Excel Entertainment.In the category, the film will compete against Disney hits "Lilo & Stitch" and "Zootopia 2" as well as animated science fantasy film "Arco".