Bhubaneswar, Feb. 2: Three plays from the state have been selected for the 19th edition of the annual Bharat Rang Mahotsav International Drama Festival hosted by National School of Drama (NSD).
The selected plays include Babaji by Satabdira Kalakar, Bheti by Abhinaya Jagruti Institute of Theatre (Ajit) and folk theatre Moghul Tamasha to be staged by Gouranga Barik.
Babaji was written by veteran director and dramatist Jaganmohan Lala. It portrays the life of a monk who is on a social awareness crusade against blind beliefs and superstition.
The play was first staged in 1984 and has since been adapted in many languages and staged in various parts of the country. It will be staged at the NSD in Delhi on February 3.
"The play was written with a motive to reform the society. Lala was a great playwright and a socially conscious person. We wanted to create awareness among the people of the city about the playwright and the need to take up theatre as a medium of transforming society," said Dhira Mallick, who directed the play.
Bheti, directed by Ajit Das, is set in the pre-Independence period.
"The set is simple and shows the declining status of the mutts in the British Raj. Most of the songs in the play are in Bengali and the language of the play is Odia. I had to work carefully to match both languages," said Das.
Moghul Tamasha is a folk theatrical form mocking the feudal system of Mughal rule. It is a folk theatre that originated in Bhadrak and will be staged on February 10.
Gouranga Chandra Barik was inclined towards theatre since his childhood and has played a vital role in the promotion of Moghul Tamasha across the country.
Last year also, two plays from the state were selected for the festival. Before that, no Odia play was selected for the fest for seven years.
The festival that began from February 1 will be held for 21 days where theatre lovers will be treated to plays from India and 12 other nations - England, Russia, Italy, Israel, Turkey, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Romania, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh.
The parallel festivals of the Bharat Rang Mahotsav would travel to five other cities of Kurukshetra, Agartala, Patna, Pune and Hyderabad. The plays will be performed in Indian languages, such as Hindi, Dogri, Kashmiri, Kannada, Manipuri, Bengali, Malayalam, Maithili and Odia.
During the 21-day festival, theatre lovers of six Indian cities - New Delhi, Kurukshetra, Pune, Agartala, Hyderabad and Patna - would be treated to scintillating theatre performances from across India and 12 other nations. Among these 94 performances will be plays from 16 states, including Odisha.
