‘Aani Shevati...’ wins drama contest

NAGPUR: After a gap of 26 years, a theatre group from Nagpur, Rashtrabhasha Pariwar Samajik Sanskrutik Sanstha, has won awards at Marathi State Amateur Drama Competition organized by the directorate of culture. ‘Aani Shevati Prarthana’, directed by Rupesh Pawar, won the first prize for best production and six more awards in the final round of the competition held at Nanded on February 23.
Preliminary round of the competition was held at Nagpur in November.

The competition is prestigious as it has seen the participation of the likes of Jabbar Patel and Vijay Tendulkar. The prize carries a cash award of Rs6 lakh and a Rs1 lakh award for best director along with a trophy and citation which was given to Pawar.

Swati Kulkarni and Rituraj Wankhede, the main protagonists of the play, got best actor awards. The play also won laurels for best make-up by Akash Morghade, third prize for stage lighting by Mangesh Vijaykar, second prize for set design to Pushpak Bhat and second prize for music score to Rituraj and Swati.

The play is an adaptation of two stories, ‘License’ by Sadat Hassan Munto and ‘Lal Pila’ by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. “These are two separate plays but towards the end, I have connected the two stories by bringing together the protagonists as both throw up the same questions,” Pawar said.

“I am trying to hold commercial shows of the play, both in Hindi and Marathi, across the state and outside too,” said Pawar and added that the state administration will help him in holding three shows.