Inside-out

It took two weeks to get Kurukushetra Se Kargil Tak ready -- it was IPTA's revenge on Sanjna Kapoor, says M S SathyuFirst show of Kurukush...

It took two weeks to get Kurukushetra Se Kargil Tak ready 8212; it was IPTA8217;s revenge on Sanjna Kapoor, says M S Sathyu

First show of Kurukushetra Se Kargil Tak at Prithvi, and M S Sathyu, the director and president of Indian People8217;s Theatre Association IPTA, stepped on to the stage.

Not as an actor, but to announce that it was IPTA8217;s second production in the last five months. It was a case in point to quot;those who think that we have not been doing enough theatre 8212; they should stand correctedquot;.

Sathyu was essentially making a rebuttal toward Sanjna Kapoor of Prithvi Theatre.

quot;She challenged us. And we gave a fitting response with Kurukshetra8230;. For, it is impossible for any group to stage a production of this nature within two weeks,quot; he claims. In those two weeks, Sathyu brought down Kalari artistes from Bangalore, who, during this time, learned to co-ordinate with the cast in Mumbai. quot;Even the chorus got just three days to rehearse.quot;

But what does he have to say to those who attest that last year8217;s IPTA festival had not even a single new production?

quot;Ek Mamuli Aadmi was new! And we did Neelam, Mukhyamantri, Gunah and Rajendra Bedi8217;s Ek Chadar Maili Si last year, though not at the festival, where all the other plays were so nostalgically popular that I just have to announce them even today and we8217;ll get a houseful. Like Moteram ka Satyagrah, which has completed 150 shows. And 22-year-old Shatranj ke Khiladi. Even though the cast has changed from Manmohan Krishna to Rakesh Bedi and Anjan Srivastava, the two shows we staged last week drew full houses.quot;
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More ill will, though. After the show, Sanjna Kapoor was heard saying that IPTA must give new artists a chance.

But that was far from the truth. For Kurukshetra8230; Sathyu used an all-new chorus and apart from three seasoned artists, the rest were fresh entrants. quot;I can also complain that Prithvi didn8217;t give us the auditorium even for a full technical rehearsal and I had to re-do the choreography for their small stage,quot; he defends, asking that why do groups like Dinesh Thakur8217;s Ank go untouched, unattacked even when they are staging the same old Satyadev Dubey plays?