Bengaluru, 12 November 2025: The 16^th edition of Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest presented by Godrej Industries Group successfully concluded on Sunday, reaffirming the city’s place as India’s cultural and literary capital. Over three engaging days, the festival brought together more than 120 celebrated authors, thinkers, and artists from India and around the world.

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The three-day festival will showcase over 120 distinguished writers, speakers, thinkers, and performers from more than 10 countries, offering a dynamic blend of voices, stories, and perspectives aimed at inspiring reflection, dialogue, and discovery including special sessions by Godrej DEI Lab that explore the vital themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Staying true to the city’s vibrant spirit, the festival will feature its signature events along with the Great Debate, Book in Focus, indoor and outdoor performances, the Little Festival for Children, and a variety of engaging workshops.

This year, the LitFest will be expanding accessibility with over 15 sessions featuring Indian Sign Language (ISL) interpretation by Access for All, who will also lead a zine-making workshop for children to encourage empathy. A sensory-friendly tent in the Open-Air Plaza offers a calming zone for neurodivergent children and others, equipped with tactile materials, soft seating, and noise-cancelling tools, supported by trained facilitators.

Commenting on the association, Nadir Godrej, Chairperson, Godrej Industries Group said, ” Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest is celebration of Mumbai’s spirit – a city that thrives on stories in its streets, people and culture. It is a place where people can share their ideas and set their imaginations free. At Godrej Industries Group, we firmly believe in and cherish the power of storytelling and are proud to partner with LitFest once again. This edition promises a rich tapestry of conversations, performances, and reflections. We look forward to three days of celebrating literature and life.”

The prestigious Godrej Literature Live! Awards will be presented across categories such as Fiction, Non-Fiction, Business, and Playwriting. The festival will also bestow its highest honours: the Poet Laureate Award to acclaimed Gujarati poet Sitanshu Yashaschandra, and the Lifetime Achievement Award to celebrated Hindi novelist and poet Vinod Kumar Shukla.

Amy Fernandes, Festival Co-Director said, “As we celebrate 16 years of Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest, it’s heartening to see the festival’s growth into a vibrant platform for ideas, stories, and conversations that bring our community together. Our partnership with Godrej Industries has helped evolve this journey to become a true celebration of Mumbai’s literary spirit and a source of inspiration for future generations.”

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Talking about his memoir, Subhash Ghai said, “In this journey, I feel I am not extraordinary; I am just a human.”

Imtiaz Ali asked the prolific director about how Krishna and Radha were integral in Ghai’s film. The director said, “India’s timeless hero is Krishna, and the sacrificing director is Ram. As a child, I read Mahabharata and Ramayana, where I realised that Krishna is a romantic, philosopher, scientist, warrior. He is the most versatile and iconic character.”

Summary:

After  thundering applause,  an audio-visual took the audience  down the memory lane of the making of India’s “ultimate showman”, Subhash Ghai. The auditorium was filled with cheers and whistles as writer and director, Imtiaz Ali, Subhash Ghai’s daughter Meghna Ghai Puri, President of Whistling Woods, India’s revered poet Gulzar, and HarperCollins India’s Udayan Mitra revealed Karma’s Child: The Story Of India’s Ultimate Showman.

Subhash Ghai, one of the celebrated cinema icons of India, narrated his story of taking control of his life’s steering and directing a magnum opus that is his life during The Greatest Showman session with Imtiaz Ali. The duo began by recollecting how they were introduced to each other’s world of cinema, and the intricacies of their craft. This was followed by Ghai speaking about how he started penning his life story with Suveen Sinha for his memoir. He also narrated how Anand Bakshi wrote the lyrics of the title track of Saudagar, referring to how the lyrics, “Saudagar sauda kar dil lele dil dekar’ came about during Bakshi’s daughter’s marriage in Delhi.

The director also reminisced about the times with his mother and her influence on his life. She made him understand the art of explanation, an important trait for a director. Taking ahead this thought, he argued how the internalisation of films is significant in making the medium timeless. For Subhash Ghai, Dilip Kumar was not only one of his favourite collaborators but a gem of a human too. Talking about him, he said, “Dilip Kumar was my favourite actor. We worked with him on Vidhata, Karma, and Saudagar. He was second after my mother who imparted values and principles and showed the depth of the craft. He was my second mother.”

This was followed by a witty Q&A session in which Mr Ghai replied with charm and affability.

The Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest, presented by Godrej Industries Group, in association with NCPA and powered by Kotak, returned for its 15th edition this year at the NCPA. The much-loved festival is a celebration of literary excellence, recognised as one of the most iconic arts festivals in India.

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The 12-track gig theatre comprised four stories running parallel as the trio, Alexander Wright, Phil Grainger, and Megan Drury, bring the gods down to a London caff. Zeus, Theseus, and others are facing a faith crisis, and obsolescence is on the horizon.  Two young lovers’ budding romance is affected as their love for each other begins to fade.. A woman is grieving the loss of her partner under a sky of stars with his ashes beside her. A young bloke finds himself on the Millennium Bridge contemplating death as buskers sing at the setting sun.

The three celebrated storytellers wove a beautiful musical piece together, leaving the audience  with an exhilarating experience. It posed important questions: Are gods still there as humans desperately seek answers in the moments of precarious love, clouding grief, and grim depression? What can the divine offer the humans who have lost faith in its existence, bereft of hope?

The answers were unearthed over an hour-long performance of the powerful spoken word, basslines, and elevated melodies, evoking a gamut of emotions. The Experimental Theatre at NCPA became an open stage for both the audience and the performers to be engulfed in the glory of stories that equal the the power above.

Supported by the British Council and performed by Alexander Wright, Phil Grainger, and Megan Drury, the show acted as a compass for humans to find the meaning of life in the people who surround us. It divorces faith from reasoning; as in the last song, Megan narrates how something that is now proved was once only imagined, only believed. The performance triumphantly amalgamated words and music to create hope, making the audience believe in the attainment of the divine.

The Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest, presented by Godrej Industries Group, in association with NCPA and powered by Kotak, returned for its 15th edition this year at the NCPA. The much-loved festival is a celebration of literary excellence, recognised as one of the most iconic arts festivals in India.

The post ‘The Gods, The Gods, The Gods’: A Euphoric Triumph Of Hope And Storytelling Receives An Electrifying Response At The 15th Edition Of Literature Live! The Mumbai Litfest appeared first on newsmantra.in l Latest news on Politics, World, Bollywood, Sports, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Trending news | News Mantra.