Mumbai students get a professional platform to stage plays

A play that Naatya Shastra helped stage

There are multiple games of one-upmanship that the denizens of Mumbai and Delhi play against each other. Which city has better restaurants, who's got better fashion, and where is the general quality of life better? These are just some of the questions that make for a raging battle. But there is one aspect in which the Capital is the clear winner, and that has to do with its college theatre circuit. Most colleges in Delhi have at least three dramatics societies, which means that hundreds of productions are staged there every year, given the vast number of colleges. Mumbai, though, lags behind in comparison.

And it's to change this equation that Mayank Dutt Kaushik formed Naatya Shastra in 2017. What the initiative does is that it gives college students a professional platform to stage plays, outside of their campuses. After eight such productions, the next effort will feature students from KC College in Churchgate, who will perform an original play called Suno Ek Kahaani at The Cuckoo Club tomorrow.

Mayank Dutt Kaushik

The play revolves around Madhu, a boy from a small village in Madhya Pradesh who has a passion for storytelling. He comes across as a mysterious person who changes the trajectory of his life, which leads to an existential journey. And the plot revolves around whether he finds his karma, or succumbs to the vagaries of life.

"The students do everything, from writing the script to directing the play themselves. All we do is provide them with guidance and arrange for a professional venue, like Prithvi Theatre, for them to stage it in. In fact, most of the students from our earlier productions have applied for Thespo (the youth theatre festival at Prithvi) this year," Kaushik says.

He adds that Naatya Shastra also ensures that at least one veteran theatre artiste is present in the audience whenever these plays are performed. His or her role is to give feedback that helps the students learn. The guest invited this time around is Akvarious founder Akarsh Khurana. So join him in the audience to give the Mumbai collegians a taste of what it means to make money out of theatre, since they also get to bag a portion of the ticket collections.

ON October 16, 6.30 pm
AT The Cuckoo Club, Bandra West
Log on to in.bookmyshow.com
Cost Rs 400 onwards

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