A theatre festival for Holi in Kanpur

Jha.Sumit@timesgroup.com
Holi is round the corner and this time the festival of colours would be more colourful for Kanpurites. That’s because just before Holi, Kanpurites will get a chance to witness the various hues of theatre in a festival that’s being organised in the city from today. On the occasion of Holi, theatre artists of the city are organising a five- day theatre festival in Kanpur. The idea behind this endeavour is to expose Kanpurites to some quality theatre. Nine teams from across India are participating in the event which will go on till the next week.

Badshahat Ka Khatma play too will be staged at the festival (BCCL)

Theatre artist Dr Omendra Kumar, the organiser of the fest, says, “Kaafi purane zamaane se Kanpur mein ek trend raha hai ki Holi se pehle Kanpur mein sanskratik karyakaram hua karte thay. But over a period of time, this trend faded away. Earlier, a lot of nautankis, kavi sammelans and other folk programmes used to take place in Kanpur just before Holi. So this year, we theatre artistes thought of organising this festival as a precursor to Holi celebrations.”
Young theatre actor Sirish Sinha, is excited at the prospect of this festival in the city. “The idea of organising a theatre festival just before Holi is to revive the art and cultural scene of Kanpur. We have nine teams from cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Gwalior, Jaipur, Bhopal, Patna and Unnao which will be staging their plays for these four days,” he says.

A scene from the play Hum Honge Azad Ek Din which will be staged in the city (BCCL)

Sirish adds, “Theatre lovers will be able to enjoy renowned plays like Gagan Damama Bajyo, Sambodhan, Flirt, Badshahat Ka Khatma, Kanjoos Miyan Deewane, Holi, Ladki Hai To Kya Hua, Kamla and Hum Honge Azad Ek Din during the festival”
Another attraction during the theatre festival will be the presence of film and television actor Akhilendra Mishra as the chief guest. Speaking on the same, actor and the member of the organising committee, Deepika Singh, says, “It’s an honour for us that actor Akhilendra Mishra has consented to be the chief guest. He will also be part of aan acting workshop that we have planned on the first day of the festival.”

A scene from the play Kamla (BCCL)

“Almost 150 theatre artists and 12 hours of plays during the festival will surely make this entire event a huge and successful one,” says actor Akash Singh, adding, “Also on the occasion of the 100th birth anniversary of poet Kaifi Azmi, we have decided to dedicate the entire theatre festival to the legendary poet,” he adds.
— Jha.Sumit@timesgroup.com