A different perspective

There are no dearth of places that a theatre lover can go to to see a good production but according to theatre veteran Divya Bhatia, “The drama-loving crowd has dwindled. Theatre today has only a niche audience because the majority of our population prefer spending their time sinking into the facilities of the multiplex and the big screen.

” He explained to us that the theatre scene in India has found itself embroiled in a paradox. Whilst the traditional elements like dancing, singing, acting that form an integral part of the theatre plays are still revered as the ethereal sparks of art, the stage performances have become something that only the niche audience cherish as the mainstream audience seem to only have eyes for commercial cinema. “The already gloomy state of theatre in India is further compounded by the dearth of funds and marketing, posing huge hurdles for the artists who passionately want to pursue their creative calling in a bid to hear the resounding applause of their audience,” he added. 

There are many theatre festivals and initiatives that are organised all through the year to engage the youth and Aadyam is the latest venture in that direction. An initiative by the Aditya Birla Group, Aadyam will be staging five new plays —  The Siddhus of Upper Juhu, Merchant of Venice, Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon, Hounds Of Baskerville and The Gods of Carnage — at Kamani Auditorium starting from July 4. We come to know that all the plays have been directed by reputed theatre groups like Masque, Arpana, Rage, QTP and AK Various. “The aim is to foster theatre talent and craft a holistic approach for each play that extends beyond the stage. Aadyam brings a fresh perspective to the understanding of watching a play and through this aims at making theatre popular amongst newer segment of audience,” said Divya Bhatia, the art director of the initiative.

Divya, a renowned art connoisseur who breathes creativity like oxygen, is an erstwhile director of Prithvi Theatre group (Mumbai) and has curated an array of folk music and art festivals across the country. He got on board the project last year in June. He has worked closely with the team of Aadyam to intricately weave the vision that would immensely benefit the theatre groups as well as the audience. “The theatre experience starts as soon as the patrons set foot inside the venue; when the play The Siddhus of Upper Juhu was staged in Mumbai, the venue had a setup which involved beach games like pot ball and ring toss along with a palm reader and even a candyfloss stall. Similarly, roulette games would set the mood for the modern casino setting of The Merchant of Venice. We started this as an experiment to extend the experience of the audience beyond the walls of the hall where the play would be staged, seeing an excellent response in Mumbai, we are going to continue with it in Delhi also,” divulged Bhatia.

Committed to producing performances of quality, Aadyam seems to be working towards becoming India’s primary platform for artistic expression, creating meaningful and memorable experiences for the capacity audience. While Aadyam has ventured into the field of theatre this time the initiative has plans of incorporating and supporting some other form of vulnerable artistic expression in the subsequent years. “This endeavor is born out of the Birla family’s belief in the power of various art forms and the need to preserve and nurture them.

Aadyam is going to be a contemporary vehicle for curating art,” explained Bhatia.This nonprofit endeavor which embodies a new dawn for the theatrical domain in India is a world apart from the talent hunts that feature on various television channels every week. “We are not promoting talent here; there are plenty of shows for that. Today the film industry is thriving because there is top notch funding, advertising and organisation. In the case of theatre things are not so coordinated. Through this initiative we want to uplift the groups and give them the benefits of producers, advertisers and popular venues. The actors and theatre people are doing their job we are just trying to increase the scale of their production and lure in new audiences by promising them an enticingly wonderful theatrical affair,” Bhatia said.

Speaking of the theatre groups that will showcase their work as a part of the initiative, he added, “It is a diverse and a strong mix. The main idea behind working with these groups is that these people already know their work. All they need is a little bit of mentoring and somebody who can streamline stage management, encourage marketing ideas as well as groom administrative structure. Aadyam is going to fill in the role of that somebody. Investing in small theatre groups who have negligible experience could turn out to be a very risky proposition; again as I said we are not scouting talent we are supporting it.”

After a successful debut in Mumbai this February, Aadyam is all set to enchant Delhiites with a refreshingly new theatrical experience. With an unprecedented positive response from the Mumbai audience and the efforts of the enterprise being lauded by the people of B town, Divya is hoping for a good response from Delhi as well.