Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 19: Four-day Natrang Theatre Festival, being organised to celebrate 35 glorious years of the Natrang organization, commenced here today at Abhinav Theatre Jammu with the presentation of William Shakespeare’s world famous play ‘Romeo Juliet’, directed by Aarushi Thakur Rana.
Hemant Sharma, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, was chief guest on the occasion whereas former Director General J&K Police, Kuldeep Khuda was the guest of honour.
In his welcome address, founder of Natrang, Balwant Thakur gave a brief account of the eventful journey of Natrang.
Natrang was established on 15th May, 1983 with the presentation of two unique short plays Neeli Jheel’ and ‘Nanhen Kandhey Nanhe Pair’, directed by Balwant Thakur at Abhinav Theatre Jammu. With over 6196 shows of over 300 globally acclaimed plays, Natrang established itself as one of the most happening cultural organization of India.
William Shakespeare’s creative masterpiece has been etched into history and our memories as the greatest romantic tale, fortified by themes of public/social institutional injustice, violence and death. However, Aarushi Thakur Rana’s rendition of this cult classic presents Romeo and Juliet in a new avatar, underpinned by Indian nuances whilst maintaining the elementary themes synonymous and applauded by the audience.
The actors who participated in the play, included Abhi Bargotra as Romeo, Gauri Thakur as Juliet, Goutam Sharma as Mercutio, Manoj Kumar Lalotra as Capulet, Shivam Sharma as Capulet, Mohit Kaul as Paris, Gautam Kumar as Frair, Meenakshi Bhagat as Maria, Gopi Sharma & Sushant Singh Charak as Messangers, Vrinda Sharma, Vanshika Gupta, Ajay Kumar Lalotra and Moses Marton.
The lights were designed and executed by Shivam Singh. The music of the play was rendered by Bhisham Gupta, Ritika Trehan of Looks did the make- up, Mahikshit Singh looked after the properties and the show was ably conducted by Sunita Pandit. The hall management was looked after by Brijesh Avtar Sharma, Raheel Sharma, Aashish Parihar, Kyannat Gupta, Ashley Mehta, Mannat Gupta, Rishima Gupta, Priya Thakur, Chahat Katiyal, Sachin Saini, Deepali Sharma and Shivam Sharma.
Prominent amongst those who graced the occasion, included Nishith Kumar Shil, Regional Passport Officer, Ajay Khajuria, Head Marketing – J&K, Bharti Airtel, Suresh Kumar, Neeraj Kant and Sumeet Sharma.
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