Top 10 district groups to stage plays at Indrarangaa's fest

Paikpara Indraranga has finally declared the top 10 plays that will be featured in the annual theatre festival, Indraranga Mahotsav. CT had reported earlier that the festival will showcase plays from district theatre groups apart from Kolkata. The fest that will kickstart on November 3 and go on till November 7 at Mohit Moitra Mancha, will feature Prantik’s My Name Is Gawaharjaan from Murshidabad, Rangashram’s Santap from Murshidabad, Dhrupad’s Arshinagar from Hooghly, Ashoknagar Natyamukh’s Ami Anukulda O Ora from North 24 Pargana, Ashoknagar Pratibimba’s Mrityu Sanbad fromNorth 24 Pargana, Santipur Sanskritik’s Anshupat Upakhyan from Nadia, Chakdah Natyajan’s Bilwamangal Kabya from Nadia, Ebang Amra’s Andhajug of West Bardhaman, Malda Theatre Platform’s Baki Itihash and Naihati Bratyajan’s Dadar Kirti.
The festival has been conceptualised by theatre personality, Bratya Basu. The leader of the group, Indrajit Chakraborty, said, “Like off-off-Broadway, we are going off-off-Academy. We usually get nationally celebrated theatre groups from around the country. We also invite Kolkata-based productions. We realised that district groups often feel overwhelmed by the grandeur of Kolkata. So, this year, we will invite theatre groups from all the 22 districts and organise a theatre competition. We will be awarding the best productions, actors and directors.”
Earlier, the group boasted of theatre stars like Paresh Rawal, Saurabh Shukla, Makrand Deshpande and Sharman Joshi to name a few. “While most of us know these people for their contribution to films, they are equally active on stage. So far, we have enjoyed every bit of the big productions. I have been working with Natya Akademi closely for a while. I felt it is important to focus on district groups now. When Anirban Bhattacharya won a nationally acclaimed theatre award for his performance in Awddyo Sesh Rajani, we all were excited. When Shandip Bhattacharya’s Rangashrom, from Berhampore, won the same award for the play Santap, no one paid heed. Thus, we want to bring theatre groups of the districts into the limelight. Some brilliant productions are being made and they should get their dues,” said Indrajit.