Amol Palekar (top) and Ratan Thiyam

Imphal, May 18: Manipur?s stagecraft has found a brand ambassador in actor-director Amol Palekar.

The filmmaker will showcase plays of the state?s award-winning director Ratan Thiyam at his annual theatre extravaganza in Pune in December. The plays will be staged by Chorus Repertory, Thiyam?s Imphal-based theatre group.

The internationally-acclaimed director will be the second to present plays at the drama festival.

?Amol Palekar started his project of staging plays by renowned theatre directors and playwrights last year. This year, the focus is on our director?s productions. We will stage at least six plays ? three adaptations from Sanskrit writings and three Manipuri plays. The plays are yet to be decided,? Ibochouba Meetei, a senior artiste of the group, told The Telelgraph.

Palekar was here last week to experience Thiyam? style of working. He spent four days at the sprawling complex of Thiyam's Chorus Repertory in Imphal West?s Shamusang neighbourhood, along with his scriptwriter wife Sandhya Gokhale. The couple spent their time exclusively at the complex, watching Thiyam?s plays like Uttar Priyadarshi, Urubhangam, Chakravyuh and Ritusamharam in CD and DVD formats. They also watched rehearsals for the group?s tour to Germany later this month. Thiyam?s latest play, Nine Hills and One Valley will be staged during the tour.

Palekar had earlier acclaimed Thiyam?s plays as authentic works with a unique flavour.

During his stay here, Palekar also discussed the struggles and prospects of Manipur film industry with a group of film personalities. He advised them not to imitate Bollywood films but to produce movies with an indigenous flavour.

?The Marathi film industry is also struggling. What I do is dig out Marathi classics and try to make typical Marathi films that could provide an alternative flavour to Hindi films. This is an effort to take regional films forward,? he said during a reception organised for him by the Cine Artistes and Technicians Association and the Manipur Film Journalists and Critics Association.