Lalit Gupta
— Excelsior/Rakesh
JAMMU, Apr 17: Reiterating the active role of non-governmental organizations in keeping the theatre scene vibrant and ticking in the winter capital, a short play festival organized by Samooh Theatre and Society for Environment, Education & Modern Art, opened at the K L Saigal Hall, here today.
The three-day event which will culminate with announcement of awards in various categories by the team of judges was inaugurated by Shamsher Singh, Member Parliament, Rajya Sabha. Saujanya Sharma, Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation and Arvinder Aman, Additional Secretary, J&K Cultural Academy, were special invitees.
The first presentation of the festival was Sanker Dayal Saxsena’s famous and socially relevant Hindi drama ‘Hawalaat’ by ‘The Performers’. Directed by Varun Sharma, today’s production was noticeable for the high energy levels of four young actors who animated the stage with their synchronized stage movements and dialogue delivery which effectively brought forth the satire on the exploitation of youth by the present day system. The cast included Amit Raina, Varun Sharma, Uplaksh Kotwal and Rohitashiv Sharma.
Directed by Ravinder Sharma, the second performance, ‘Agni Priksha’, was appreciated for the fact that Shivani Anand, the young playwright of play, who is otherwise known in Jammu’s literary circles as Hindi poet of promise, not only came out with a thought provoking script on a topical theme, but also gave an impressive performance as the solo actor. She successfully enacted the role of protagonist conceived as the voice of the female gender who through the ages has been undergoing ‘agni prikhsha’ (trial by fire) time and again, only to prove her innocence and purity to satisfy the male driven value system.
Despite long monologues, Shivani Anand very well brought out the tragic tales of mythological characters such as Sita, Amba, along with present day young girl who questions the hypocritical stance of Indian society where fathers and brothers resort to ‘honour killing’.
Today’s function was also marked by the felicitation of Saujanya Sharma and Sardar Harbans Singh Vishbanagrik. Dr Sudhir Mahajan, gave details about the different categories of awards to be given and NGOs plans to hold future shows of award winning plays. The event conducted by Sapna Soni, was attended by large of actors, writers and littérateurs.
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