Bhopal: 22nd Bharat Rang Mahotsav ends with Freedom of Choice

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The six-day drama festival, 22nd Bharat Rang Mahotsav, ended with Hindi play, Freedom of Choice, at Bharat Bhawan on Tuesday evening.

Directed by Muskan Goswami and Yogendra Singh, the play is adapted from Urmil Kumar Thapliyal’s Aranya Rodan, which is based on real life incidents.

The play presents life of a girl named Dhara, who since her childhood faced orthodox customs and conservative views but created her own identity.

The drama also refers to the true story of a woman named Sisa Abu who worked as a man for 42 years to bring up her child and later was acknowledged as Best Mother in Egypt.

The play touches the sensitive issues like rape, women exploitation, child marriage, acid attack, female foeticide, dowry, sexual harassment, honour killing, casteism.

Muskan said that play was not the story of a particular girl or gender but every girl can connect to it.

“In the play, we abstained from showing torture or suffering. We used a lighter way like clowning, mime, nautanki, Yakshagana, Bollywood, puppetry etc to project it,” Yogendra added.

Muskan Theatre Lab, Mumbai, presented the 80-minute play to a packed audience. The event was organised by National School of Drama in association with Bharat Bhavan, Department of Culture, and Govt of MP. Madhya Pradesh School of Drama (MPSD) was nodal agency.