A showcase of emotions! Bancharam- Thota Ku Prematho

Samahaara theatre group over the weekend showcased two popular play productions – Badal Sircar's 'Evam Indrajit' (Hindi) and Manoj Mitra's 'Bancharam - Thotaku Prema Tho' (Telugu) at Phoenix Arena, Hyderabad. Both plays were staged as part of a theatre workshop directed by Dr Pejjai Nagaraju and produced by Rathna Sekhar Reddy, founder of Samahaara. The workshop was conducted for two months, each day for two hours.

The workshop aimed to teach basic acting skills for the stage. As part of the workshop, students explored 'Stanislavski Method Acting' and basic acting techniques for the camera. Students also experienced theatre exercises such as sense memory, storytelling, voice, concentration, team integration, improvisation, acting with imaginary character, spatial awareness, building a character. During the workshop, they have experienced both realistic and non-realistic acting.

The Hindi play 'Evam Indrajit' by Badal Sircar takes us through these existential questions as a reflection of our own lives. Originally written in Bengali in the genre of the 'Theatre of Absurd', where 'nothing seems to happen', it set a new benchmark for contemporary Indian theatre scenario of the 1960s.

The second play 'Bancharam- Thota Ku Prematho' is a Telugu adaptation of the popular classic Hindi play 'Bagiya Bancharam Ki' by Manoj Mitra. He takes us into the world of Bancharam, a lonely old ailing man, who has nurtured a beautiful garden with his sweat and blood on a few cents of his land.