Rama Pandey has won many national and international awards for her contributions to theatre and television. After a successful career as a journalist and playwright with organisations such as BBC Hindi, Voice of America, CBC Canada, and Radio Netherland TV Centre Holland, she founded Rama Theatre Natya Vidya (RATNAV) and Montage Films to communicate Indian traditions with her audience.
In Rang Utsav, organised by RATNAV, theater lovers will witness three plays, written, directed, acted and performed by Rama Pandey, that directly question the problems women face in modern day society.
“We have made these three plays to communicate directly with the audience on women-based issues. All the plays openly communicate with the present society on the important issues of the consciousness of women’s social behaviour for women and by women”, Pandey says as she explains her reasons behind the plays.
Of the three plays, the first play ‘Ramgarh Ki Katha’ is a wonderful story of the incredible heritage of the ancient city of Ramgarh, which was settled and ruled by merchants.
The second play ‘Roop Vidroop’ is a slap on the face of Azad Hindustan because of women-based violence in the country. It touches on the painful subject of acid attack and salutes the courage of those women who live with it. This is the first time that a violent and painful subject like acid attacks is being written and performed through song and drama. It will be accompanied by Padma Shri Kathak dancer Shovana Narayan’s emotional dance performance.
The third and final play ‘Lallan Miss’ is based on the real-life story of a eunuch who breaks down the walls of social prejudice and builds a school for slum children. A 44-year-old transgender Lallan Hijra buids this school in Patna. They run the school despite threats from the land mafia. When the school gets burned down by the mafia after 15 years, Lallan tries to rebuild the school in collaboration with other active participants in the area.
Speaking on the importance of such plays by female playwrights, Abhijit Awasthi, Founder Sideway Consulting says, “Sideway is committed to helping to preserve and promote the various forms of Indian art and theatre and their practitioners. RATNAV is doing remarkable work in this area, and that too on socially relevant, women-centric topics.”
When: 1 September – 3 September from 6:30 pm
Where: Shri Ram Center, Mandi House
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