The 20th edition of the largest theatre festival of Asia-Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM), is being hosted in Delhi which has brought together over 100 national and international theatre acts in a 21-day long spectacle. Organised by the National School of Drama, the 20th BRM has put forth some very innovative ambiance performances and street plays since its beginning.
Some interesting plays included ‘Besure Gramophone Wala Mechanic’, a play by Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (IGDTUW). The play revolved around an old mechanic who owns a repairing shop and is given a 72-year-old gramophone to repair. What if the instrument goes beyond repair? Another play, ‘Kahkasha’ by the Jesus and Mary College, revolved around hyper masculinity. It explored the themes of childhood learning at hom, how masculinity and femininity are complete opposites with no flexibility. The play talked about issues of body image and how it’s not just a woman’s problem. Special emphasis was placed on eating disorders and muscle dysmorphia and normalising the fact that men have them too. The play also addressed the correlation between the problematic representation of male characters in pop culture and how it propagates ideas of hyper masculinity.
Some notable plays that have been performed in this year’s festival were ‘Abhimanya Sundari Thirukalyanam’, a Tamil play dramatised from the Mahabharata’s story of Abhimanya Sundari Thirukalyanam; ‘Titas Ekti Nodir Naam’, a Bengali play which talked about the fishermen societies residing on the banks of Titas in Bangladesh; ‘King Oedipus’, a Bengali play which followed the abode of Cadmus, who was burnt to ashes because of the wrath of the Gods; ‘Ananyaa’, a Marathi play which is a story of an ordinary girl, Ananya, who possessed the potential to do something extraordinary and ‘Shifa…The Healing’, a Hindi play which was based on the HIV+ people talking about the positivity of life and about searching within oneself, to find a new way of life.
Ambiance performances are a daily feature of the BRM which showcase a colourful landscape of the culture. These performances show the lesser known local, traditional, and folk forms from the states to the heart of the national capital. They are being performed at intervals within the NSD premises at the auditoriums before the plays. Some notable performances include Laihroba, Bamboo Dance and Gidda.
