‘Bhavalayam 2015’ honours artistes

The main highlight of the evening was the honouring of renowned Malayalam TV serial director K. K. Rajeev, who was bestowed the ‘Bhavalaya’ award for 2015 for his efforts in the television arena

MUSCAT: ‘Bhavalayam 2015’, a cultural extravaganza and art fiesta presented by Bhavalaya, honoured artistes from different walks of life at the Grand Hall of Al Falaj Hotel. Bhavalaya is a non-profit global platform for the promotion of art and culture.

The evening organised by Muscat Unique Diamond Entertainment also saw a fusion of song, dance and film on display for the art connoisseurs of Muscat who gathered in large numbers to fill the Grand Hall, says a press release.

Indra Mani Pandey, Indian ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, attended the occasion as the chief guest while Dr Khalid Abdul Rahman Al Zadjali, chairman, Oman Film Society, was present as the guest of honour along with Dr J. Retnakumar, chairman and founder, Bhavalaya.

‘Bhavalayam 2015’ was kickstarted by an energetic and foottapping tribal dance number choreographed by the acclaimed RVL Babu from White Roses Dance Company. It set the tone for rest of the evening as the audience sat up to watch the colour, vibrancy and razzmatazz on the stage.

The main highlight of the even- ing was the honouring of renowned Malayalam TV serial director K. K. Rajeev, who was bestowed the ‘Bhavalaya’ award for 2015 for his efforts in the television arena.

Bharatanatyam expert Padmini Krishna Moorthy was awarded the ‘Natya Kalaratnam’ Award which was preceded by a captivating dance drama by Padmini and her team of dancers that took the tempo of the programme to the next level.

Short movie

The honouring continued as the cast and crew of the 45-minute movie To Be Or Not To Be, directed by journalist Kabeer Yousuf and produced by Retnakumar, were felicitated on the stage by the dignitaries present.

The movie that deals with a relevant theme of child trauma featured Rabah Zayed in the lead role, noted theatre person Girija Baqer as the grandmother, the talented Azra Aleem as the mother and Retnakumar donning the role of a child psychiatrist.

Screening of the much-anticipated movie left many a mother teary eyed in the auditorium as the essence of the universal topic struck a chord with the audience.

New actors

Earlier, Bhavalaya held auditions to select two actors who could feature in Rajeev’s next Malayalam soap opera.

After two rounds of auditioning, the jury comprising Rajeev, Retnakumar, Girija and Malayalam TV anchor Munshi Ranjith picked Sunil Kumar G. and Nisha Prabhakaran as the winners.

They will be featured in one of Rajeev’s forthcoming projects.