Ujjain: 36th National Drama Festival begins; satirical drama ‘Global Raja’ bats for 'Swadeshi'

Ujjain: 36th National Drama Festival begins; satirical drama ‘Global Raja’ bats for 'Swadeshi'

The play was hilarious throughout its duration and in the end, left a serious message that our path should be ‘Swadeshi’ only.

FP News ServiceUpdated: Wednesday, March 23, 2022, 10:32 AM IST
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A satirical drama ‘Global Raja’ being staged on the first day of 36th National Drama Festival organised by Abhinav Rangmandal, in Ujjain on Tuesday. | FP PHOTO

Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): The 36th National Drama Festival organised by Abhinav Rangmandal began on Tuesday evening with the staging of the play ‘Global Raja’. The play presented the thinking prevailing in the society in a satirical and symbolic way, making one aware of the entire spectrum of the governance system. The play was hilarious throughout its duration and in the end, left a serious message that our path should be ‘Swadeshi’ only.

‘Global Raja’ is a theatrical adaptation of Hayes Christian’s short story ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ and the original play ‘Uzbak Raja Teen Dakait’ written by Alakhnandan. In this play written in a satirical style, the playwright effectively displayed the conspiracies of national and multinational companies in the polity under the pretext of multinational tailors.

Due to the non-promotion and disregard of domestic goods by the people in power, the country’s economy has staggered today and most of the cottage and small scale industries are almost destroyed. The play systematically presented the attack on most of the cottage and small scale industries by multinational companies or on small markets by the big markets of the world.

The play also reveals the growing influence of foreign capital and the threats to our cultural identity arising out of it. In the play, the king's orthodoxies and the present form of commission system were well highlighted, as well as deep political thinking was also displayed with great ease. ‘Global Raja’ was staged under the direction of Yogendra Choubey and presented by the theatre department of Indira Kala Sangeet University, Khairagarh. Yogendra Choubey is a famous young director of the country. In 2020, his play Baba Pakhandi was also the talk of the town in Ujjain. Abhinav Rangmandal Ujjain has also honoured Choubey with the National Abhinav Rang Samman. His plays are basically socio-political, in which the events going on in the society are presented very easily on the stage.

THE PERFORMERS

Dheeraj Soni in the role of king, minister Parmanand Pandey, maid Diksha Agarwal, chobdar Aman Malekar, drummer Kushal Sudhakar, khandala messenger and Bhopali tailor Anurag Panda, Madrasi tailor Sonal Bagde, Bihari tailor Himanshu Kumar, thugs Lakhwinder, Shani Rana and Unnati De, raja Deshabandhu Somnath Sahu, kid Vikram Lodhi, Himanshu as poet comet were among those who gave powerful performances. On the other hand, stage management of Dr Chetanya Athale, music composition by Dr Yogendra Choubey, Mohan Sagar, songs by Alkhanandan, Ghanshyam Sahu, harmonium by Hitendra Verma, dholak by Janeshwar Tandia, stage concept of Dheeraj Soni, material by Anurag Panda, Rohan Jaghel, costumes by Dheeraj Soni, Diksha Agrawal, light arrangement of Dr Chaitanya Athale and conceptualisation and direction was of Dr Yogendra Choubey.

OPENING SESSION

The formal commencement of the 6-day theatrical function took place at Abhirang Natyagriha of Kalidas Sanskrit Academy. Senior Congress leader Manohar Bairagi, social workers Balkrishna Pandya, Sanjay Patel and Antarsingh Patel and National School of Drama graduate Punj Prakash were present as guests. The guests started the function by lighting the lamp.

‘DHUMIL KI KAVITA’ TO BE STAGED TODAY

Event convener Sharad Sharma told that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the organisation and the 36th theatrical festival is being organised. The play, ‘Dhumil Ki Kavita’ will be staged on Wednesday under the direction of Punj Prakash and the presentation will be given by Dastak, Patna. The plays will start every day at their scheduled time of 7.30 pm. Entry to the play has been kept with fees and admit cards can be obtained outside the venue by coming 10 minutes before the scheduled time.

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