Drama King

I am made for theatre,there’s nothing else I know or do,” said Kewal Dhaliwal,while accepting greetings for winning the National Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar 2013. For the last 36 years,Dhaliwal has been taking Punjabi theatre places and the award,he adds,is not just a recognition of his efforts to keep doing theatre against all odds,but also a tribute to Punjabi language and the richness of its literature and poetry. “The award makes us more responsible,and inspires us to continue the act,’’ he added. Dhaliwal is the President of Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademi and is organising theatre festivals all over Punjab.

Known to experiment and express through various art forms on stage,the idea,says Dhaliwal,is to give audiences a new experience and also make them think. “You have to have a dream and then enact it,’’ he says. Dhaliwal is the nucleus of theatre group Manch Rangmanch,which takes theatre beyond the stage by organising workshops,seminars,exchanges on the art form and also travelling across the country with their plays.

The group has a National Theatre Festival every year in Amritsar,with Dhaliwal working with other groups to develop Punjabi theatre. “The idea is to expose the audiences to varied forms and festivals play an important role in doing this job,’’ he says. Dhaliwal began his career with Gursharan Singh and has more than 150 productions to his credit.

He has also developed Virsa Vihar in Amritsar,one of the most active art hubs of Punjab. It’s a place for the confluence of theatre,dance,music,with spaces for workshops,rehearsals and an auditorium which hosts more than 300 theatre performances every year,as well as a dormitory and library,with a host of amenities.

Dhaliwal is upbeat about staging Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq in Punjabi. “I have translated the script. It’s a larger-than-life play and never done in Punjabi,and I am looking forward to it,’’ he says.