How Javed Akhtar and Onir were kept out of Bhopal litfest

Jan 20, 2023 | 06:58 IST

Filmmaker and author Onir’s flight ticket was cancelled at the last moment, while Javed Akhtar was not invited despite expressing his desire to speak at the event

The fourth edition of the Bhopal Literature Festival (BLF), held at Bharat Bhawan between January 13 and 15, had all the glam and glitz but very little literature.

That the organisers were more interested in echoing the popular discourse and had no intention to confront difficult socio-political issues became obvious when they withdrew the invite to filmmaker and writer Onir Dhar. Onir, apart from being vocal on social issues, is also a prominent member of the LGBTQI+ community.

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/idea-of-india/democratic

TOI

TOI

How Javed Akhtar and Onir were kept out of Bhopal litfest

Filmmaker and author Onir’s flight ticket was cancelled at the last moment, while Javed Akhtar was not invited despite expressing his desire to speak at the event

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TOI

How Javed Akhtar and Onir were kept out of Bhopal litfest

Filmmaker and author Onir’s flight ticket was cancelled at the last moment, while Javed Akhtar was not invited despite expressing his desire to speak at the event

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