19th NATSAMRAT NATYA UTSAV and 14th NATSAMRAT THEATRE AWARD opens 11th March

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Over Ten Theatre Groups will participate in the theatre festival

NATSAMRAT Natya Utsav has now come of age. Oscar Wilde once said,

“I regard theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being”.

If you agree, head to a fun fest that is all set to salute the spirit of Indian Theatre, Organized by Natsamrat Theatre, the 19th Natsamrat Natya Utsav which is all set at comedy, romance and tragedy-emotions that are key to any well-lived life at Narenjayan Studio Auditorium, 53, Bharati Artist Colony, Vikas Marg, New Delhi-110001.

Audience at the Awards
Always a jam-packed Auditorium at the performances and the Awards


Natsamrat has been at the forefront of Capital’s amateur theatre movement for the last 24 years, presenting entertaining and socially conscious theatre, participating in the prestigious theatre festivals and organizing every year theatre festival featuring work of leading theatre directors. Under the inspiration guidance of its founding director Shyam Kumar, a seasoned director and actor, Natsamrat has instituted awards which are given away every year to theatre practitioners –
directot, actor (male and female), playwright, backstage performer, critic, lifetime achievement,
theatre promoter – of eminence.


During the six-days we will have participation from ten different directors on one platform. The directors are:
Chandershekhar Sharma, Vishaw Deepak Trikha from Rohtak, Rajesh Tiwari, Ashraf Ali, Varun Sharma, Sunil Chauhan and Shyam Kumar and the plays are ‘Lajwanti’ on 11th March at 3:30 pm & ‘Gadhe Ki Barat’ at 6:30 pm, ‘Kambakht Ishq’ is on 12th March at 6:30 pm, ‘Jaanch Padtal’ is on 13th March, at 6:30 pm, ‘Charandas Chor’ will be performed on 14th March at 3:30 pm & ‘Aadhe Adhure’ at 6:30 pm, ‘Digdarshak’ on 15th March at 3:30 pm and ‘Shikasta Booton Ke Darmiyan’ at 6:30 pm and on 16th March ‘Chuhal’ at 3:30 pm & ‘Ek Ruka Hua Faisla’ at 6:30 pm.


The event will also witness the 14th Natsamrat Theatre Award in eight categories – Best Writer, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best in Back-stage, Best Critics, Lifetime Achievement Award and Best Theatre Promoter for those who have contributed significantly to the theatre. The award committee is consisted of award-winning playwright D.P.Sinha, Writer & Critic Jaidev Taneja, Writer & Critic Diwan Singh Bajeli, Award-winning light designer R.K.Dhingra and Writer & Director J.P.Singh.. at Muktadhara Auditorim, Banga Sanskritik Bhawan, 18-19, Bhai Vir Singh Marg, Gole Market, New Delhi-110001.

Manohar Khushalani

Manohar Khushalani

Prof. Manohar Khushalani is a former Visiting Faculty at Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi. The courses he taught were: Animation & Graphics, Non-Linear Editing for Film and Radio and Theatre Appreciation.  He has won a total of nine Excellence in Teaching awards for all the courses he has taught at IIITD Earlier he retired from Government of India as Director Environment Management, Central Water Commission and held many senior positions in the Government Based on a Belief that Culture and Environment are the two keys to global sustainability , Manohar Khushalani has launched two portals: A Portal on Environment and Water called One Vorld at url: www.onevorld.org and two Ezines on Culture called Stage Buzz at url: www.stagebuzz.in He has taught extensively in varied subjects such as Dam Safety, Instrumentation, CAD, IT, Animation, Theatre, Newspaper Editing. He has conducted Courses on Environment Management, Water Shed Development, Team Building and Personality Development. He was an Expert Member of Prasar Bharti’s Committee for Grading & Short listing Films for Telecast on all channels of Doordarshan.  He is a Radio Anchor for All India Radio and has moderated several programs for the Rajdhani Channel He is a well-known Theatre Actor/Director and Critic, has been involved in theatre since 1977. He has worked as an actor in over 50 plays with almost every leading director/Actor in the Country including Badal Sircar, Feisal Alkazi, Amal Allana, M.K. Raina, Anuradha Kapoor, Maya Rao, Manohar Singh, Prasanna, Rati Bartholomew and Sushmita Mukherji. He has been active in the social sector as a street theatre activist. As a member of Workshop Theatre, Theatre Union and Prayog, Khushalani has participated in street plays taking up major social issues such as dowry, bride burning, Sati, banned medicinal drugs and communalism. Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Can’t Pay Won’t Pay, both directed by him, received rave notices from critics and audiences alike. Other plays directed by him include Badal Sircar’s, Sagina Mahato and Boris Vian’s Empire Builders for Ruchika Theatre Group. Khushalani has also acted in a few films such as Sudhir Mishra's Hazaron Khwaishen Aisi , Shoojit Sircar’s Madras Café and Pradeep Krishan's Annie Gives Those Ones. He is an Animator & Graphics Designer and has directed a number of documentaries. He also held a number of Honorary positions and was President of North India Films Association, He was the Chairman of  Jury for UGC CEC Educational Films Competition and has been on their Preview Committee since last many years. He was on the preview committee of Door Darshan Channel 3, was a visiting Professor at National School of Drama, New Delhi, and Film & Television Institute of India, Pune, AJKMCRR, Jamia Milia Islamia and Professor in Media at FICT, Delhi  He has judged a large number of Drama Competitions and conducted a number of Theatre / Management Games Workshops with Institutions such as AIIMS, NTPC, CWPRS, NWA, Karve Nari Prakshishan Sansthan, FICT, IIT, MAMC, Gargi College, KNC, Tagore International School and Vivekananda School. He is a Theatre Critic for IIC Diary, has also been a Columnist with Midday and Pioneer Daily and wrote Column's Called Culture Cocktail and Footlights Respectively. He was also the Guest Editor for an issue on Folk Theatre of ICCR Journal Horizons. He has written for Times of Indian, Hindustan Times, Blitz, Hard News, Hindu Business Line, Theatre India & Art Times. He has designed dams and hydraulic structures for the Government. He is a programmer and has developed Engineering design software in Fortran. He is a co-author of Irrigation Practice & Design (Vol 1 to5 - 1500 pages) published by Oxford & IBH and sponsored by National Book Trust. He has been a Director, Environment and Sociology, at the National Water Academy, Khadakwasla and Director, Environment Management Directorate, Central Water Commission and Member Secretary, National Environmental Monitoring Committee for River Valley Projects. He was also Director of Instrumentation Directorate in the Dam Safety Organisation. He was Chief General Manager and Head of Water Resources at Scott Wilson and is an accredited consultant with numerous other organizations He is a Delhi Public School, BITS Pilani, IIT Delhi and FTI Pune Alumini. He was also the President of BITS Pilani Alumni Association, Pune.

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1 Response

  1. Avatar डॉक्टर.उदय रोमन says:

    It’s really a big motivation for aspiring creative directors , writers and specially new producers who believe in art and culture of India. Mr Khushlani is guru of many such beginners who are now flourishing with their creativity. Keep it up 👍

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