Imtiaz Ali, the brain behind Bollywood hits such as Rockstar and Jab We Met, will visit the city to take part in the seven-day Patna Film Festival, which starts on February 19.

Art, culture and youth affairs department minister Sheo Chandra Ram made the announcement on Tuesday.

The department had invited Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Priyanka Chopra, Sonakshi Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha for the festival but the actors will not be able to attend the festival because of their busy schedules.

"Twenty-three commercial films and five documentaries will be screened. The Directorate of Film Festivals, India, has selected the films to be shown," said the minister. "Apart from Imtiaz, film maker Nitin Kakkar, documentary and short film director Avinash Kumar Singh, director Buddhadeb Dasgupta and others will attend the festival."

He spoke about actors who will attend the event.

"Actors like Divya Dutta and Shekhar Suman will attend the festival. Mona and Elphinstone theatres are the venues for the film screenings. Interactive sessions will be held from February 20 at Lalit Kala Academy, Fraser Road. People can talk to the actors and filmmakers about their movies. Cine Society of Patna will hold a film appreciation workshop at both halls on February 25," said Sheo Chandra. "Entry is on first-come-first-serve basis and a valid photo ID will be required as proof. Entry is free of charge. The festival will be inaugurated by deputy chief minister Tejaswi at SK Memorial Hall."

Speaking about the films to be screened, he said: " The Coffin Maker, Chinese Whispers, Daddy Grand Pa and My Lady will be some of the English movies to be screened. Ram Singh Charli, Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa, Masaan, Paan Singh Tomar, and Bajrangi Bhaijaan will be among the Hindi films to be screened. Hindi documentary films, such as Seek and Hide and Goonga Pehelwan will be shown. In the regional language category, Deswa will be screened. Films in Marathi, Bengali, Konkani and Malayalam will also be shown. A Sanskrit film, Priyamanasam will also be screened."

Cinema lovers who cannot wait for the festival, can attend an exhibition - Evolution of Cinematic Technology - organised by the department at Lalit Kala Academy. The three-day exhibition, which started on Tuesday, will showcase the types of cameras, editing and other technologies used in film-making from 1950 to the present day.