Analysing influence of OTT platforms

Panellist: T.N. Seetharam

Thalagavara Narayanarao Seetharam, popular as T.N. Seetharam, is a prominent Kannada film and TV serial director, actor and screenwriter. He has become a cultural icon through his work in several art mediums. Seetharam has written, directed and produced plays, movies and top-rated television series which have attracted millions of viewers.

Seetharam began his career as an associate to playwright and film director, P. Lankesh. He played a pivotal role in the Lankesh-directed National Award-winning film Pallavi (1976). He was also associated with famous director Puttanna Kanagal and had written scripts for his movies. He developed a concept of ‘Samvada’, wherein he held meetings with his audience throughout Karnataka. These became so popular that ETV Kannada telecast these interactions as well. He was the President of Karnataka State Film Awards jury for the year 2006.

Moderator: Aravind Kuplikar

Aravind Kuplikar comes from an artistic family and as a child he got into theatre activities. He is a close associate of the legendary theatre artiste B. Jayashree and he has two decades of invaluable experience in all aspects of theatre. After stepping into the film industry, he has worked with the actor/director Prakash Raj’s multilingual films Oggarane and Idolle Ramayana.

Aravind Kuplikar has also worked with Yogaraj Bhat as a screenplay writer and with B. Suresh as screenplay writer, story writer and co-director for the film Devara Naadalli.

His latest film Puksatte Lifu is currently being screened at the theatres and is being praised as being sensitive and profound. Along with directing a few corporate videos, he has also bagged several prestigious awards and accolades for his work in films.

Moderator: Preethi Nagaraj

An avid theatre person, political analyst, journalist and author, Preethi Nagaraj has been associated with The New Indian Express, Deccan Herald, CNBC-TV18 and Hindustan Times. A bilingual writer with proficiency in both English and Kannada, she is a columnist with one of the oldest Kannada dailies  Prajavani.

 Her reportage on the role of women in Panchayat Raj won her the Sarojini Naidu Prize in 2010 in New York. Her narration of theatre personality and her mentor, B. Jayashree’s biography won her the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Book Prize for 2016. She has two Kannada books in her name.

Virtual session – Date: October 30 – Time: 8.00 pm to 9.15 pm

Rajput pinks and Naga greens: Multi-hued tales

Panellist: Alka Joshi

Alka Joshi was born in India and raised in the US from the age of nine. She has a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of Arts. Joshi’s debut novel, ‘The Henna Artist’ became a New York Times bestseller, a Reese Witherspoon Bookclub Pick and is being developed into a limited TV series. The sequel, ‘The Secret Keeper of Jaipur’, released in June 2021, will be followed by a third book in the trilogy in 2023.

Moderator: Avinuo Kire

 Avinuo Kire is a writer and teacher from Kohima, Nagaland. She has contributed to various literary journals, anthologies and has authored ‘The Power to Forgive and Other Stories’ (Zubaan), ‘The Last Light of Glory Days and other Stories’ (Speaking Tiger), a collection of poetry, ‘Where Wildflowers Grow’ (Barkweaver) and co-authored an anthology of oral narratives titled ‘Naga Heritage Centre’, ‘People Stories: Volume One’ (PenThrill). Avinuo holds a Ph.D. in English Literature and presently teaches English at Kohima College.

Moderator: Jayashree Jagannath

Jayashree Jagannath, member of the Mysuru Book Club right from its inception, is a person of varied talent. She is a qualified French teacher, having studied the language both at the Mysore University and in Alliance Francaise. She also has a diploma in translation, both English to Kannada and Kannada to English.

In her role as translator/interpreter she has assisted/is assisting several scholars and filmmakers such as Elisa Polosci (film-maker, Canada), Dr. John – Brem (Agricologist, UK), Zac Miller (film-maker, USA), Project Disha, a community research project in collaboration with Ashodaya, Mysore and the University of Manitoba, Dr. Robert Lorway, Department of Anthropology, University of Manitoba and several others. In addition, she has designed and taught short courses in conversational French and worked as a volunteer consultant to an NGO to impart computer aided English education to rural students.