Individuals have come together to fund Nandikar festival

The 36th National Theatre Festival of

Nandikar

is set to begin on December 16. Among the highlights this year will be the felicitation ceremony of Nandikar chief

Rudraprasad Sengupta

. “My father was dead against the idea of being felicitated at our own festival. But this year, the young guns of Nandikar decided that a diversion be made as this felicitation is long overdue. Baba will get `50k, but that money is raised by the juniors through their earnings, Saptarshi (Maulik) being a major contributor in that. In fact, Baba is not even aware of the amount he is getting,” said Sohini Sengupta, actor and theatre director.
Sohini said every year, Nandikar gets a central grant of `5 lakh, but this year, there was not even a single discussion on that. “In dearth of any grant, individuals came forward. My mother (Swatilekha Sengupta) and Saptarshi contributed majorly towards the festival. This they did with their earnings from films and serials. That apart, we found a lot of support in two other friends of Nandikar — Bikram Dasgupta and Raj Chakrabarty. So, the festival is very much underway with efforts of individuals,” said Sohini. Raj’s next, Dharmajuddho, features both Swatilekha and Saptarshi, apart from a host of other actors from Tollywood.
The festival will begin with a performance by Parbati Das Baul and there will be at least three plays by Nandikar. “There’s a double show of Manush. That apart, Nachni and

Panchajanya

will be staged at the festival. Right now, it’s all work for us,” added Sohini.