Kalidas Samman for thespian Anil Rastogi

Lucknow: Celebrated theatre, TV and film artist from Lucknow and general secretary of Darpan Theatre Group, Anil Rastogi, has been conferred with the prestigious Rashtriya Kalidas Samman by the Madhya Pradesh government. The award includes cash prize of Rs 2 lakh and a citation.

Elated over the announcement, Rastogi said: “It is a matter of great pride not only in my individual capacity, but somewhere it also acknowledges the efforts of every person who contributed in the making of the artist in me.” A former scientist with CDRI, Rastogi has given more than a thousand theatre performances in nearly 100 plays in Hindi across the country.

Rastogi’s talent has been appreciated in the past by the likes of late Rajeshwar Bachchan, late Ravi Baswani, Raj Bisaria, late BV Karanth, late Bansi Kaul, Ajay Kartik, late Urmil Kumar Thapliyal, late Dina Nath, Ranjit Kapoor and Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha.

He started his theatre journey with the play ‘Noor Jahan’ in 1962. “Earlier, I balanced my profession with my interest in theatre. Now, I balance theatre and my commitments in movies and web series. I’ll never lose my creative urge for theatre. I’m still working on a play, ‘Katha’, which I’ll do in January. Support from friends, family, colleagues, students and audiences have brought me this far,” said Rastogi.