Theatre for a cause

HYDERABAD: It’s been a hot minute since Hyderabad witnessed a theatre festival and Natotsav is offering enthusiasts in the city a bonanza — 22 different plays for two days this weekend. The seventh edition of the theatre fest will have plays in three different languages from November 12-13. CE catches up with Dr Ram Mohan Holagundi, the director and writer of the plays being performed at Natotsav by the Nishumbita School of Drama.

The organisation had, earlier this year, created a record with 27 performances in 24 hours. “The plays started at 7 am and went on until 7 am the next day and got into the India Book of Records and the Asia Book of Records. This time we have divided it into four slots, we will be starting with Telugu plays, followed by Hindi, with plays by children coming next and will end with plays in English. We have six plays in Telugu, five in Hindi and English each and the rest by children. The performances will start at 10 am we start and we wind up by 9.30 pm on both days,” he tells CE.

Speaking about the various plays that will be showcased, he says, “I have written all these performances that will be monodramas/monoplays. Each of them is dedicated to a cause, to raise awareness about different social issues — right from drugs and AIDS to rape and a female clown. Then we have a Hindi play called Iski Tho, a satire on smartphones and how they damage our lifestyle. There’s one called Bhraman Ho!, which shows how pandits have been targeted these days. Not to forget one called Uppar Wale, which comments on how certain religious sentiments are harming the environment. The plays by children bring to light the thought process of kids these days.”

All performers of the plays are from Nishumbita School of Drama, trained under Dr Ram Mohan. “Most of these actors and the technical team (over 40 of them) are working professionals from different walks of life, who share a common passion for theatre. Some are doctors, some engineers and some others, entrepreneurs,” he shares.

 Looking back on how far the school, and theatre in the city, have come, Dr Ram Mohan reminisces, “Back in 2015, when we had our first theatre festival, actor Amala Akkineni ji was our brand ambassador. We had three plays then and were working towards bringing in local talent and encouraging Indian writers, that is how we took up Girish Karnad’s plays for the first one, followed by a two, then three and four-day fest. With 22 performances in two days, this time, it feels rewarding to see how much we have grown.

This needs to only go bigger and better from here. More people need to see how powerful a medium theatre is and Natotsav is every bit a step in that direction. Social awareness and thought-provoking performances are an added attempt at that. We can’t wait to get on the national and international scene soonest.”