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ONE of the superstars of Malayalam films, Mammootty, and renowned Indian playback singer Hariharan will be the star attractions of a heritage festival to be staged at the Indian School premises in Isa Town.
The Indo Bahrain Heritage Fest 2014 (IBHF 2014) will be held under the patronage of Minister of State for Information Sameera Rajab and the Indian Embassy on Friday starting at 9.30am.
The event is being organised by Al Hilal Corporation along with AARS Art Centre and Deshabhimani Gulf.
Jose Kaitharath, co-ordinator for Al Hilal Corporation, said: “The day-long event will be launched with an Arabic dance and will be followed by a variety of Indian and Arabic cultural and artistic programmes, culminating in a music concert by Hariharan, Chandreye Bhattacharya, Vedha and their full orchestra led by Prakasan Ulliyeri.
“A cultural group from Saudi Arabia and a 40-member Ardha dance troupe from Bahrain will also be making an appearance followed by a fashion show.”
The organisers are hoping to attract a crowd of around 100,000 throughout the day and tickets for the event are already being snapped up.
Mammootty and Hariharan are both recipients of India’s fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, and while Mammootty is a three-times winner of the National Best Actor Award, Hariharan has won the National Best Singer accolade twice.
The 63-year-old Malayalam film actor, who has acted in more than 360 movies over a period of three decades, is expected to be present from the opening of the event and will be interacting with fans who have purchased special tickets, said Mr Kaitharath.
Another attraction of the event will be dancer and illusionist Ashker Kalabhavan. Mr Kaitharath said: “Mr Ashker’s magical dance performances at frequent intervals along with live music will offer a new experience for the audience.”
Drawing and painting competitions have also been lined up for children. Mr Kaitharath said that more than 300 children have already registered for these competitions and the organisers are expecting many more to sign up.
Other programmes to entertain the audience include a selection of dance forms such as contemporary, cinematic, folk, classical, Rajasthani, Gujarati alongside popular Kerala specialties such as Oppana and Thiruvathira.
Tickets are priced BD100 (admit 4), BD50 (admit 4), BD25 (admit 4), BD10 (admit 2) and BD2 (admit 1), while tickets for the executive category are BD100 (admit 1) and BD50 (admit 1).
For more details, email: heritagefest2014@gmail.com
