By IANS
New Delhi, Grandiose sets, colourful costumes and an impeccable performance: the summer theatre festival of the National School of Drama (NSD) is on, much to the delight of theatre lovers.
The festival began Monday evening with noted theatre artiste M.K. Raina’s play “Baanbhatt ki Atmakatha” in Hindi.
Inviting a packed auditorium and a generous audience that couldn’t stop applauding after each scene in the first play, the festival, which is run till June 17, seems to be a runaway success from day one.
“I am a regular at the NSD’s theatre festivals. With so many cinema halls coming up in the city, one hardly gets to watch some good theatre. Thankfully, this festival is a respite for the diehard theatre fans like me,” said Pramod Jain, who came to see Raina’s play with her husband and her friends.
“I try and catch whichever play in on at the NSD throughout the year but this festival is something I never miss. You get to see some brilliant performances, meet like-minded people and basically enjoy yourself.
“I am especially looking forward to Ranjit Kapoor’s ‘Antral’, Rajendra Nath’s ‘Ghasiram Kotwal’ and Suresh Sharma’s ‘Kafka – Ek Adhyay’,” said Ananya Sharma, a fine arts student of Delhi University.
Avinash Baruah, who had come for the play at by his friend’s insistence, couldn’t wait to come back the next day. “I am impressed. There’s nothing like watching a live performance. The emotions portrayed are raw and every scene is full of life, unlike in movies,” he said.
Many agreed with Baruah. The play, which was an autobiographical account of a poet, Baanbhatt, unfolded in a natural sequence of events, complete with scenes depicting a war to gaiety and festivities and the final flowering of his love for the princess whom he rescues.
The grand set – with trees, dragons and even a pool – complemented the performance even more, leaving the audience spell bound.
“Janeman” by Vaman Kendre, “Short Cut” by Ranjit Kapoor, “Memsahab Prithvi” by Rabijita Gogoi and “Ram Nam Satya Hai” by Chetan Dattar are among the 10 plays which will be staged in the festival.
Many look forward to watching “Ghasiram Kotwal”, a contemporary classic penned originally in Marathi by Vijay Tendulkar.