Theatre groups are usually quite competitive. Yet theatre artistes in Hyderabad have shown they have a large heart. In one of the rare instances, artistes across theatre groups have come together to support theatre artist/radio jockey/voice over artist Pushpesh Pant, who has been diagnosed with acute leukaemia. In an effort to help finance his treatment, both amateur and seasoned theatre performers have set aside their differences and joined hands to initiate a crowd funding campaign.
Joint effort
The result of this is a month-long theatre event titled ‘Theatre For a Cause’ (Online crowdfunding campaign www.ketto.org) which began on September 15 and goes on till October 22. “It was a joint effort and could materialise only because everyone volunteered to do their bit to help Pushpesh,” state the artistes. While Rajnish Songara of Darpan theatre group has been co-ordinating with the groups, Jay Jha of KissaGo and Shailja Chaturvedi, a core member of both KissaGo and Manch theatre have been supporting him.
Different genres
Apart from these two theatre groups, KissaGo and Darpangroups which are part of this initiative include Dramanon, Rangeen Sapney, Manch, Sutradhar, Udaan, Aham, Samhaara and Nishumbita. While this week, Dramanon and Ekaansh stage Long Story in Short and Dedh Inch Upar on September 23 and 24 respectively, the evergreen Biryani Aur Haleem by Sutradhar (Oct 6), Evam Indrajeet by Udaan (Oct 14 and 15) and The Last Wish Baby by Samahaara (Oct 21) are few plays to be staged, all ticketed. “The themes are not specific and our motive was to stage good quality theatre. There are comedy, dark comedy, satires, absurd comedy, suspense, family drama plays,” points out Shailja adding the working professionals manage their time in a way that they are able to dedicate a few hours for rehearsals of these shows.
Meanwhile, the artistes try not to be disturbed by Pushpesh’s condition. In fact, they feel inspired to make a difference, says Shailja. “The cause has made us stronger,” she observes, “As actors we are taught to keep aside any kind of emotion overpowering the mind and concentrate on characters. Also the directors and the sentiment shared by the artistes has created a positive energy.”
The family of Pushpesh is aware of this campaign and it has kept their morale up. “All of us might not be able to visit the hospital to meet the family but through this initiative we try to convey that we are their extended family and have each other’s back. I hope this initiative gives them more power to fight the battle,” shares Shailja.