End of the road?

He firmly believes it was only the involvement of film personalities such as K A Abbas, Balraj Sahni, Chetan Anand and M S Sathyu, that kept IPTA in the limelight.

But others who have stayed loyal to the movement for decades and are still trying to keep it afloat claim that’s not true. "IPTA believes that every performing art has a purpose and hence must be relevant to the man on the street," says film and television actor Anjan Srivastava who joined the group way back in 1968. "Which is why we have consciously stuck to plays that have some socio-political relevance. We cannot go commercial to cater to popular tastes and forget our original purpose. And what’s wrong with staging our old plays — they still hold good in today’s environment."

But even its most loyal followers don’t deny the fact that IPTA has been caught in the vicious circle of no-funds-no-plays for many years. Says its general secretary Sudhir Pandey, "Apart from thefact that we are a non-commercial organistation, lack of sponsorships and sold-out shows has left us in a serious financial crunch. As a result, it is virtually impossible to work on new productions."

This coupled with the fact that most members in recent years have used IPTA merely as a stepping stone to films and television has further crippled the body. There is a serious lack of committment among the ranks insist veterans. "The problem lies with the attitude. While we have a major influx of aspiring actors in the city, most of them don’t understand theatre and treat it as just another pastime," says Pandey who had a nightmarish experience co-ordinating 30 actors for Shivdas Ghodke’s production of Bali last year.

But for their part, IPTA’s 70-odd active members are trying to keep the fires burning by organising the stray theatre workshop and conducting its famed Inter-Collegiate Drama Competition smoothly. "Even there, the quality of plays and performances we get has gone down. Nor do thestudents seem to have the same spirit they did in the past," laments Pandey.

Now they are also trying to tie-up with a few schools around the city to put up their plays on a regular basis and also try and extend IPTA’s base. "The movement shouldn’t be discontinued — that’s our committment. And as long as there’s one honest worker in the ranks, IPTA won’t die," says Srivastava. Strong words yet.