`Contemporary Indian theatre has entered the Dark Age`

The plight of Indian theatre is not very flattering, believes Suresh Sharma, chief of administration, National School of Drama. In an exclusive interview to Spicezee.com’s Shivangi Singh, Suresh Sharma spoke on the contemporary Indian theatre in detail.Shivangi: How has the year 2008 been for Indian theatre?

Suresh Sharma: Nothing extraordinary has happened this year. Just routine work is going on. Contemporary theatre is on a downslide. However, some interesting events have been held by National School of Drama, as this year is being celebrated as its Golden Jubilee year. We organized a lot of events as a part of celebrations – ‘1857: Ek Safarnama’ by Nadira Babbar, was an interesting part of the yearlong events. Bharat Rang Mahotsav was also organized on a large scale. Another play ‘Main Istanabul Hoon’ was well received. Shivangi: What are the upcoming events in the year 2009? Suresh Sharma: We are celebrating the Golden Jubilee till March 2009, so the festivity is ongoing. Our 11th Bharat Rang Mahotsav will be held in New Delhi from 8th January to 20th January 2009. We will showcase 80 plays from India and abroad. But it is evident that the present scenario is gloomy, and you can say that the theatre has entered the Dark Age. It will remain so for 10-15 years. Renaissance will follow but as of now, theatre is going through a rough patch. Playwrights should not please just their own aesthetic outlook, but also keep the popular demand and audience in mind. Shivangi: What are the recent changes in theatrical trends? Suresh Sharma: Since the last decade, there has been more focus on theatrical techniques rather than characters and theme. It should be kept in mind that the actor is always primary in a play, everything else is secondary. The director is also very important. But this shift of focus- away from the actor and the director- has propelled the advent of the Dark Age. Moreover, new plays are not coming up. Not many popular stage actors are around. Theatrical people want to grab media attention. They drift towards more lucrative careers as theatre is not very rewarding monetarily. Shivangi: What is the status of Indian theatre on global front? Suresh Sharma: We are not there yet. Mostly, Indian theatrical art is represented by folk performances. Just a handful of artists like Ratan Thiyam, Habib Tanvir, Kanhaiya Lal have managed to carve a niche on international level. They represent the soul of Indian theatre. Others manage through well-placed sources and mostly mimic the Western theatrical art by showcasing absurd and realistic plays. We should showcase Indian culture; instead we are showing them what they have already been seeing. Shivangi: How can we revive the Indian theatre? Suresh Sharma: Indian theatre should be commercialized. Commercialization does not mean presenting vulgar plays or lowering the quality of the plays, but rather better marketing of plays. Also the themes of the plays should be in accordance to popular demand. You can see that Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali theatres are faring far better than the theatre in the Hindi belt. Artists there are getting better paid and are very popular. Theatre is lucrative and commercialized there. We should commercialize the Indian theatre without compromising on quality.