Dehradun will host the parallel theatre festival 21st Bharat Rang Mahotsav which is being organised by National School of Drama (NSD) in collaboration with the Department of Art and Culture, Government of Uttarakhand. It will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on February 6 in the presence of State Culture Minister Satpal Maharaj, noted actor Himani Shivpuri and well-known poet Leeladhar Jagudi.
According to the state director of the Department of Art and Culture, Beena Bhatt, “It is very fortunate for us that the inauguration of this international theatre festival will be done in our new auditorium in Dehradun.
Uttarakhand is hosting this festival for the first time in which besides theatre there will be folk performances, bookstalls and food courts which will showcase the various variety of Pahadi food.
According to NSD senior faculty member Abdul Lateef, “There are overall seven plays in the festival in which three plays are from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, while four Indian plays include two plays in Bengali and one play each in Assamese and Malayalam.” He further added that the play Charudutta will be the opening act of the festival on February 6. Talking about the importance of this festival he said that Bharat Rang Mahotsav is also being hosted by other cities like Nagpur, Shillong, Delhi and Puducherry that helps in the exchange of the art of theatre and culture among different groups.”
It is pertinent to mention here that the Bharat Rang Mahotsav has already started in Delhi but in Dehradun, it will start from February 6 at 6 pm and continue till February 12 in which the first play will be Charudutta directed by Bhupen Joshi. After every play, the audience will get the chance to interact with the director and talk about the play.