Hindi
Day one of the Jagran Film Festival Commences with a dazzling lineup of movie stars
Mumbai: the eagerly awaited Jagran Film Festival 2023 had a grand inauguration at Cinepolis, Mumbai, commencing an exceptional cinematic journey. Presented by Rajnigandha in partnership with the Government of Uttar Pradesh, the first day promised a remarkable cinematic adventure. The inaugural ceremony was graced by renowned director, screenwriter, and producer Anees Bazmi, joined by Amit Rai, DK, and Raj.
The eleventh edition of the festival glittered with Bollywood luminaries, including Bhumi Pednekar, Rhea Kapoor, Karan Boolani, and casting director Mukesh Chhabra. It also aims to honour Indian cinema legends like Satish Kaushik, Lata Mangeshkar, Vikram Gokhale, and K Viswanath, with a special focus on movies “Kaagaz” and “Lamhe” as a tribute to Satish Kaushik and Lata Mangeshkar.
Day one featured engaging panel discussions with celebrities like Anees Bazmi, Bhumi Pednekar, Rhea Kapoor, Karam Boolani, Amit Rai, Mukhesh Chhabra, DK, and Raj. They shared valuable insights and experiences from their illustrious careers, captivating the audience with their dialogues.
In a candid discussion moderated by Nayandeep Rakshit, accomplished directors Anees Bazmi, Amit Rai, DK, and Raj shared their experiences and early career challenges in crafting stories for OTT and theatrical releases, underscoring the importance of well-crafted scripts and casting choices.
The team of “Thank You for Coming” engaged in an open discussion. Rhea Kapoor acknowledged the potential criticism of her film choices but emphasized the connection with her target audience. Bhumi Padnekar discussed the film’s message of self-acceptance and personal responsibility for happiness. Karan Boolani emphasised the importance of empathising with characters and understanding their perspective, highlighting the hidden forces perpetuating inequality. This discussion was moderated by Nayandeep Rakshit.
Mukesh Chhabra, in an engaging casting discussion, discussed his career journey and his deep love for the film industry, emphasizing his unique path to making a meaningful contribution.
The festival premiered with “Guthlee Ladoo,” including a special screening of “Darran Chhoo,” “Eismayer” for the international opening, and “Jananam: 1947 Pranayam Thudarunnu” for the regional opening.
As the festival partner, Custard Apple Pictures presented the Hindi film “Banwari Ki Amma,” directed by O.P. Srivastava. Set in 1970s Lucknow, it explores the life of an ambitious middle-class family, featuring an elderly maid known for her culinary skills, and their shared existence in a cramped house.
Day two will witness in-conversations with stars like Aanand L. Rai, Piyush Mishra, Vishal Batra (brother of Kargil war hers Param Veer Chakra- Vikram Batra) and Anmol Ahuja
The world’s largest travelling film festival is all set to enrapture audiences with an exceptional array of world-class films from all around the globe.
For Registration log on to: www.jff.co.in.
In a music industry that often rewards speed, spectacle, and instant recall, Navjot Ahuja’s journey feels refreshingly different. His story is not built on noise. It is built on patience, discipline, emotional honesty, and a quiet commitment to becoming better with every passing year. After 14 years of struggle, learning, performing, and writing, Navjot stands today as an artist whose success has not changed his centre. If anything, it has only made his purpose clearer.
For Navjot, music has never been about chasing fame alone. It has always been about expression. It is about writing more truthfully, singing more skillfully, understanding himself more deeply, and becoming a kinder human being in the process. That rare clarity is what gives his journey its beauty.
Where It All Began: A Writer Before a Singer
Indian singer and songwriter Navjot Ahuja’s musical journey began in the most familiar of places: school assemblies. But even then, what was growing inside him was not only the desire to sing. It was the need to write.
Long before he saw himself as a performer, he had already discovered the emotional release that writing offered him. For Navjot, words became the first true channel for feeling. Songwriting came before singing because writing was the only way he could let emotions flow through him fully. That inner pull shaped his artistic identity early on.
Like many young musicians, he sharpened his craft by creating renditions of popular songs.
Those experiments became his training ground. But the turning point came in 2012, when he wrote his first original song. That moment did not just mark the beginning of songwriting. It marked the beginning of self-definition.
A Calling He Did Not Chase, But Accepted
What makes the latest Indian singer-songwriter Navjot’s story especially compelling is the way he describes his relationship with music. He does not frame it as a career he aggressively pursued. In his own understanding, music was not something he chose. It was something that chose him.
There was a time when he imagined a very different future for himself. He wanted to become a successful engineer, like many young people shaped by ambition and conventional expectations. But life had a different script waiting for him. During his college years, around 2021, music entered his life professionally and began taking a firmer shape.
That shift was not driven by image-building or industry ambition. It came from acceptance. Navjot embraced the fact that music had claimed him in a way no other path could. That sense of surrender continues to define the artist he is today.
An Artist Guided by Instinct, Not Influence
Unlike many singers who speak openly about idols, icons, and musical role models, Navjot’s creative world is built differently. He does not believe his music comes from imitation or inherited influence. He listens inward.
He has never considered himself shaped by ideals in the traditional sense. In fact, he admits that he does not particularly enjoy listening to songs, especially his own. His decisions as a songwriter and singer come from instinct. He writes what feels right. He trusts what his inner voice tells him. He positions his music according to what he honestly believes in, not what trends demand.
That creative independence gives his work a distinct emotional sincerity. His songs do not feel calculated. They feel alive.
The Long Years of Invisible Struggle
Every artist carries a chapter of struggle, and Navjot’s was long, demanding, and deeply formative. One of the biggest challenges he faced was building continuity as the best new indian singer songwriter in an era where musical collaboration is increasingly fluid.
For emerging singers, especially those trying to build with a band, consistency can be difficult. Instrumentalists today have more opportunities than ever to freelance and perform with multiple artists. While that growth is positive and well deserved, it can make things harder for singers who are still trying to establish a steady team and sound around their work.
For Navjot, one of the most difficult phases came during 2021 and 2022, when he was doing club shows almost every day. It was a period of relentless performance, but not always personal fulfillment. He was largely singing covers because clubs were not open to original songs that audiences did not yet know.
For a new Indian singer and songwriter, that can be a painful compromise. To perform constantly and still not have the freedom to share your own voice requires not just resilience, but restraint.
“Khat” and the Grace of Staying Unchanged
After 14 years of effort, Navjot’s new love song Khat became a defining milestone. Professionally, he acknowledges that the song changed how society viewed him as a musician. It strengthened his place in the public eye and altered his standing in meaningful ways.
Yet personally, he remains unchanged.
That is perhaps the most striking part of his story. Navjot says his routine is still the same. His calm is still the same. His writing process is still the same. He does not want success or failure to interfere with the purity of his art. For him, emotional detachment from public outcomes is essential because the moment an artist becomes too attached to validation, the writing begins to shift.
His joy comes not from numbers, but from the attempt. If he has tried to improve his skill today, if he has written his heart out more honestly than before, then he is at peace.
Growth, Not Glory, Remains the Real Goal
Even now, Navjot is not consumed by labels such as singles artist, performer, or digital success story. His focus remains deeply personal. He wants to sing better. He wants to play instruments better. He wants to understand himself more. And he wants to become a kinder person.
That is what makes Navjot Ahuja’s journey so moving. It is not simply the story of a musician finding recognition. It is the story of an artist who continues to grow inward, even as the world begins to look outward at him. In an age obsessed with applause, Navjot reminds us that the most meaningful success often begins in silence, honesty, and the courage to remain true to oneself.
