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Stage sans a script

The Ninth Bharat Rang Mahotsav has a new look this year, but does it serve the purpose of representing Indian theatre?

FAULTY RHYTHM? Purists question the inclusion of dance in a theatre festival

The National School of Drama's Ninth Bharat Rang Mahotsav 2007, which concludes this Saturday, focuses on dance theatre as well as showcases productions from foreign countries. Over the years, Bharat Rang Mahotsav has become the most important theatrical event in the country. A well-defined cultural policy envisaged by the cultural ministry will help the organisers of the Mahotsav to make it a convergence of the regional, folk, classical and contemporary Indian theatre with its varied manifestations of colour, moods, styles and themes. But in the absence of such a policy?

According to Devendra Raj Ankur, NSD Director, 25 per cent productions are in Hindi this year, while 25 per cent are from abroad and 50 per cent from other regional languages. "There are 10 productions without any spoken word to provide the audience glimpses of a theatre without language barrier to create a universal language of the theatre," says Ankur.

Global approach

Another special feature of this year's Mahotsav is to enable Indian theatre practitioners to explore the possibility of presenting their works at international theatre festivals. "This is an era of globalisation. We want Indian theatre to reach an international audience. So far only classical Indian dances and music are shown abroad. We have invited five directors who organise international theatre festivals in different countries to interact with Indian directors to enable them to introduce their works to the directors and participate in international festivals," says Ankur.

Despite claims of the organisers, the focus on dance theatre and exclusion of regional theatre from many states have evoked a mixed reaction. The absence of productions by stalwarts of Indian theatre like K.N. Panikkar, Habib Tanvir, Ratan Thiyam, Bansi Kaul, Bhanu Bharti and M.K. Raina has dampened the festival spirit of many theatre lovers. Some of the states without representation include Uttaranchal, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Out of 52 productions featured at the festival, there are 12 from Delhi. Stellite Theatre will carry 15 productions from the festival simultaneously to Kolkata from January 12.

Left cold

The opening dance theatre piece entitled "Nobody" from Germany left many spectators cold, because it depicted a different sensibility. "The best inaugural piece would have been a mosaic of different traditional and classical performing Indian art forms," says Reoti Saran Sharma, a veteran playwright and director, Secretary-General of Bharatiya Natya Sangh ITI and Member of International Theatre Institute. "This kind of choice will undermine our own great cultural legacy, betraying a misconception that what is western is contemporary."

Arvind Gaur, founder-director of Delhi-based theatre group Asmita, comments, . "The character of the Mahotsav is changing. It began with the objective of projecting myriad colours, forms and thematic variety and richness of Indian theatre being practised in this vast and culturally varied nation. This year regional theatre is marginalized. What was the need to give dance theatre special emphasis while our regional theatre in remote areas languishes in obscurity and economic deprivation? Of course, foreign productions are important to expose international trends in dramatic art, but such festivals should be organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations."

N.K. Sharma, founder-director of Art One, feels the selection criteria is heavily weighted in favour of groups based in metropolises. "Bharat Rang Mahotsav cannot ignore the theatre with different sensitivity being practised in states like Uttaranchal and Jharkhand, simply because it does not reflect high culture," says Sharma.

Some are sceptical about the Mahotsav's new agenda of seeking space for foreign theatre festivals and collaboration with foreign groups. Comments a theatre lover, "This kind of collaboration will not help the Indian theatre movement. On the contrary, it will widen the existing gulf between the elite theatre and the regional one. In the name of taking Indian theatre abroad, the elite groups will grab most of the government patronage and may create a kind of exotic theatre saleable in the West." Reacting to NSD's claim that the Mahotsav would act as a catalyst to inspire Indian theatre workers, Gaur says, "Far from giving impetus to a truly indigenous Indian theatre, NSD has not been able to stop the exodus of its own graduates to Bollywood."

DIWAN SINGH BAJELI

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