TV and film actors body, CINTAA, has decided to have an annual event called Act Fest, for the actors by the actors, which will be graced by over 70 celebs, including Ronit Roy, Amit Sadh, Swara Bhaskar, Nakuul Mehta, Kritika Kamra, Riddhi Dogra, Sharad Malhotra, Deepika Singh, etc. B-Town biggies, Sara Ali Khan will open and Vicky Kaushal, along with Jimmy Shergill, will close the two-day proceedings (15th and 16th Feb) at the NM-Mithibhai college campus.
General Secretary, CINTAA, Amit Behl says, “Act Fest will have several events, including quadrangle functions, panel discussions and one-on-one chat shows (on how to deal with failure – very important in today’s stressful times). Talent hunts for fresh faces (acting), and last but not the least, the exhaustive schedule also lists workshops on poetry, make-up, dance, camera acting, stunts, etc.”
Amit, currently doing Vikram Betaal Ki Rahasya Gatha, says, “Although we are the largest Indian actors’ body, we did not have our own vehicle to celebrate the success of our own brethren across TV, films, stage and now web. Hence, when executive committee member Sanjay Bhatia broached the subject, we immediately said yes.”
“It was a logistical challenge to get so many actors under one roof. I had to take three days off to just sort the listing. Several of them graciously agreed just on call. Many others could not make it due to shoots or other personal engagements,” says Amit, who was also part of the super hit film, Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi.
“We have tried to pack in a lot of action (talks on comedy, digital, etc.) into 2 days. Some might work, others might not. The CINTAA core committee, including me, Sushant Singh, Ayub Khan, Abhay Bhargav and Payal Nair, have a very hands-on job with the full support of Manoj Joshi and Vikram Gokhale.”
As to why they zeroed in on NM-Mithibhai college as the venue, Amit says, “At first, we wanted to hold it at Mehboob Studios, but then preferred NM, it being closer to TV and film action. Also, these colleges have been the alma mater of several TV and film greats; so what better way for them to pay respect to their alma mater?”
In closing, Amit added, “We will continue to felicitate names other than top stars. So this year we will be awarding highly talented yesteryear artists like Paintal, Tabbasum and Daisy Irani.”