Inter-collegiate drama festival returns

These and many others are part of the 49th edition of the Purushottam Karandak Inter-Collegiate Drama Festival,the elimination rounds of which are currently on at the Bharat Natya Mandir. The powerful themes — combined with hard-hitting dialogues and strong acting — are being presented in newer,refreshing styles.

Apoorva Bardapurkar,a final year student of Cummins College of Engineering,who directed the highly acclaimed play Bagulbua,says,“We wanted to do a play on child abuse because it is a socially relevant issue that not many speak about. We had to research the psychological behaviour of both the victims and the perpetrators of the crime. This is a story of a girl who is abused by her boarding school principal. The person who comes to her rescue is a teacher — and the principal’s niece. She had undergone the same traumatic experience herself,and the story deals with her battle with her own demons as she helps someone else out.”

The College of Engineering,Pune’s play,Rang Majha Vegla,focuses on the subject of individualism. Raunak Shah,cultural secretary of the team,says they wanted to try out a play on the theme of the protagonist’s aspirations and dreams,but did not want to make another Wake Up Sid or Taare Zameen Par.

“We just wanted to show that it was all right to absorb certain facts that people liked about different cultures to have their own identity. The play deals with the problems of being typecast,or even just blindly accepting societal norms rather than doing what one pleases,” he says. Generation gap is very well depicted,and Shah underscores how much it affects the lives of youngsters. “Three quarters of youngsters are clueless as to what they want to do in life,or what they want from life. Others choose to follow their hearts and tread newer paths,and in the process incur the wrath of their families,peers and society.”

Hrishikesh Suman,principal of Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce,says he had asked his students to try something radical and different to break out of the cycle of disappointing performances at the festival. “I was very happy with their performance on the play Was ist das? dealing with the issue of a German tourist who comes to a village in Maharashtra to understand its culture. The approach is comic,the issue is very real. Of course the students gave it their very best,but what has made the entire college happy is the fact that it was a different take on a very relevant problem that can arise out of a meeting of widely differing cultures,” he says.

Patyacha Ghar by Sinhagad College of Engineering deals with the issue of sexual and mental needs of mentally ill people. Ka Mhanje Karmanuk by Garware College of Commerce focuses on God — and whether He exists.

Bardapurkar stresses the need for themes to be radical more than anything else. “The rest falls into place. What is important is the need to address an issue that is not spoken about or discussed openly in society,” she says.

48 years on,ideas still rule — but focus too on writing and acting

WHEN it began in 1964,its main aim was to inspire college going youngsters to step into the world of dramatics and theatre to address issues that were important both to them and to society as a whole. Forty-eight years later,Purushottam Karandak,the inter-collegiate drama festival,continues to charm and captivate — providing colleges with a unique platform to explore themes that are relevant to constantly changing times.

While original,bold and relevant themes remain the primary focus,there is enough imagination and improvisation on view in the writing and presentation of the plays — and of course,in the acting.

Hemant Vaidya,secretary,Maharashtriya Kalopasak,Pune,the organisation that conducts the festival every year,says,“There are 51 colleges participating this year and the most interesting part is they have come up with some interesting styles of presentation. Themes are the mainstay,but the festival has a lot more than just that.”

The eliminations for the festival started on August 16 and will go on till August 30. The finals slated to be held on September 8 and 9.

Vaidya says he would like to take the event beyond just Pune. “We are working on the logistics of holding it in Mumbai. Currently only colleges affiliated to Pune University are participating. Of course we have colleges from Alandi,Pimpri-Chinchwad and even Ahmednagar,but we would love to take it to Mumbai.”

The event is being judged by Deepak Rege,Shailesh Deshmukh and Archana Rane. “Themes this year range from socio-cultural to political,youth and religion. The plays are being judged on the quality of acting and the idea that the play is trying to convey. However,the details are also being judged. Right from the acting to the lighting,the use of props and the adherence to timing,all factors are taken into consideration,” Vaidya says.

“Performances have improved vastly,and styles have changed. In fact,this year experimental plays and acting have seen a rise. The question where the actor deals with his or her own dilemmas and leaves the rest to be interpreted by the audience is a new trend this year. New writing styles have brought change. Experimental plays have been popular with audiences this time around,” he says.