See saw: Delhis Filmy Beginning

Coinciding with 100 years of Delhi as Indias capital and 100 years of Indian cinema,Delhi is ready to host the first-ever Delhi International Film Festival.

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Coinciding with 100 years of Delhi as Indias capital and 100 years of Indian cinema,Delhi is ready to host the first-ever Delhi International Film Festival DIFF. Announced on Tuesday at a press conference attended by director Tigmanshu Dhulia and actor Shiney Ahuja DIFF is slated to be an annual event and the first edition begins on December 21. After getting a glimpse of Arab and Asian cinema at the recent Osians Cinefan film festival,Delhiites will get to watch 150 films from across 70 countries at DIFF. There will be over 10 sections,including retrospectives of Dev Anand,Balraj Sahni and other legendary filmmakers and actors. The festival also has a special section called NRI Cinema,under which 15 films made by non-resident Indians will be showcased. The World Cinema section will showcase films such as Daughters of Hill by Patrizia Landi,The Artist by Michel Hazanavicius,Love Bird by Susan Collins and The Sunshine in The Corner by Sun Hao Young. DIFF will be held at Siri Fort Auditorium and NDMC Convention Centre from December 21 to 27.

Wedding March

To enthrall a city obssessed with grand wedding celebrations,folk singers from Rajasthan,Punjab and Bihar will share a common stage at the two-day Lok Sangeet Sammelan,which is dedicated entirely to nuptial songs this time. The theme of the festival that starts on Saturday at the India Habitat Centre is Shagun Lagun. To live up to the theme,all the performances will reflect the local traditions observed during wedding ceremonies from shagun and mehendi to haldi,lagan,sangeet,ghodi and finally,bidaai. The first day will witness a performance by Padma Shri Sharda Sinha,a folk singer from Bihar who is credited with popularing Bhojpuri songs in Bollywood. Sinha,who has sung Taar bijli in the recent Gangs of Wasseypur 2,will present Bhojpuri and Maithili songs such as Hardi haradiya dubh paatar na and More babua ko najario na lage. The following day will have Rajasthani song performances by Vanasthali Vrind and Punjabi folk songs by Saeeda Begum.

A Royal Win

Arvind Singh Mewars love for a classic beauty on the road is well known. On August 19,this love for vintage cars won him the prestigious Lucius Beebe trophy at the 62nd Pebble Beach Concours dElegance event in California. Mewars 1924 Rolls-Royce 20 HP,Barker Tourer GLK 21 bagged the award and he is the first Indian to have ever won this trophy. On the same day,the House of Mewar released a 194-page coffee table book titled The Royal Udaipur RR GLK 21 Classic drive from Derby to Udaipur to Pebble Beach and8230; Continues that tells the story of the restoration of the car. Mewar was accompanied by his daughter Padmaja Kumari,son-in-law Kush Singh Parmar and the team that restored the prized Rolls-Royce,at the event in the picture above.