According to NSD Director Anuradha Kapur, Manto was a popular figure not only during his time but is relevant even in the contemporary context. “Many things which he articulately and sensitively pointed out still strikes a chord with theatre lovers in India as well as Pakistan. His depiction of the trauma of Partition is a significant work on that difficult period. Our students have been religiously studying his works and it is quite gratifying that so many plays would be staged at the festival.”
Pointing out that Indian plays have drawn inspiration from folk theatre, NSD Chairperson Amal Allana said oral traditions like music and dance have impacted Indian playwrights. “Written plays were not our creation. However, playwrights like Vijay Tendulkar and Mohan Rakesh have written scripts which are in the mould of Western classical plays. So, it is important the new generation of playwrights must draw inspiration from our folk traditions. We must move away from the written script. Our actors should not just be a talking machine. This is the reason why we impart training in the body language.”
Like his contemporary Om Puri, who after decades demonstrated his theatrical skills in the Capital recently, film actor Kulbhushan Kharbanda will be returning to the stage with a play, “Atmakatha”.
“Kulbhushan is coming because of his earlier association with the group Padatik. Notwithstanding his love for theatre, Kulbhushan ventured into the film world because plays cannot sustain actors. Now when he is old and is accepting only a few roles, he has decided that it is time he returned to his first love,” says Amal.
NSD has been roping in theatre stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah for its productions. “If there is a new play and dates of eminent theatre personalities match with ours then we invite them over. Naseer did a play about three years ago. Last year, we had Seema Biswas.”
Like every year, the festival has chosen plays which celebrate our country’s secular and pluralistic traditions. Regional language productions have been given prominence. This year, theatre lovers would get to watch 87 plays from foreign countries including SAARC nations, besides the host country.
The festival will also travel to Jaipur where 11 Indian and nine international plays will be staged.
Courtesy : The Hindu

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