The Andhra Pradesh government has announced that the Amaravati Festival of Cinema, Culture and Literature, popularly called ‘Avakai’, will be held in Vijayawada from January 8 to 10.
Addressing the media at the Secretariat on 22 December, Tourism, Culture and Cinema Minister Kandula Durgesh said the festival would be organized at Punnami Ghat and Bhavani Island with a focus on Telugu cinema and literature, responding to the growing national interest in regional storytelling.
Conceived by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, the festival will be organized by AP Tourism Authority and produced by Teamwork Arts. The three-day event includes music, dance and theater performances, panel discussions, puppetry, poetry readings, mushaira sessions in Telugu and Urdu and theater workshops. Visitors can also take part in heritage trails, ferry rides, interactive installations and curated dining experiences, according to a press release issued by the department.
Mr. Chandrababu Naidu is likely to inaugurate the event along with Mr. Kandula Durgesh, Ambassador of the European Union to India, JE Herve Delphin and Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, Sanjoy K. Roy. Opening performances will include Her Frames, Her Fire by Omaggio Performing Company, followed by The Music, Masti and the Magic, a musical created for ‘Avakai’ directed by Sanjoy K. Roy and choreographed by Gilles Chuyen.
The festival will also showcase words based on the story of UK and Rasa United, Apart from Poetry Sessions Futuring Azhar Iqbal, Iqbal Ashhar, Khubybir Singh Shaad, Nusrat Mehdi, MRUNALI, POPULAR Meruthi, Saif Nizami and Sardar Salem. Aaj rang hai, a special collaboration, will bring together nizami bandhu and anirudh varma collective.
Workshops led by masters like Tuhon Aditya Roy, Nathoo Lal Solanki, Shameem and Gilles Chuyen will be conducted to promote learning and cultural exchange. The program will also include live performances.
Titled Pure Evil: Anti-Heroes of Cinema, the talk will feature acclaimed crime writer S. Hussain Zaidi, filmmaker Sudhir Mishra and screenwriter and novelist Yandamuri Veerendranath.
Published – 22 Dec 2025 21:16 IST
