The National School of Drama is one of the best Theatre institutes in the world, and the only one of its kind in India and Asia, which has played a major role in Theatre training as well as in the Indian Theatre movement. An important part of this Theatre movement is ‘Bharat Rang Mahotsav’, which is today considered as one of the biggest Theatre festivals in the world, in which there is a holistic confluence of Indian as well as global Theatre cultures.
Bharat Rang Mahotsav was being organized regularly from 1999 to 2020, but due to the Corona epidemic in 2020, it could not be duly organized in 2021 and 2022. Although after inviting entries for the year 2022, from all over the country, about 100 plays were selected after the scrutiny. Meanwhile, on
the call of Honorable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi, the ‘Bharat Ki Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ was being celebrated across the country. In this sequence, Bharat Rang Mahotsav (Azadi Series) was organized by the National School of Drama from 16 July to 14 August in 6 major cities of the
country ie Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Varanasi, Amritsar, Bengaluru and Mumbai, under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, in which a total of 29 plays, based on the unsung heroes, who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of India, were performed. The event was widely appreciated. Now, after a gap of almost 2
years, in the comfortable environment of the country, which has almost recovered from the pandemic, the 22nd Bharat Rang Mahotsav will be organized from 14 to 26 February 2023 in a total of 10 major cities including Delhi- ie Delhi, Jaipur, Rajahmundry, Ranchi, Guwahati, Jammu, Srinagar, Bhopal, Nashik and Kevadia, in which a total of 80 plays are being performed. The ceremony, to be organized during the period of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ From August 2021 to August 2023, will certainly provide an opportunity to the audience to acquaint with the glorious cultural-social-folk history of India. In view of this, the grandeur of the festival has been conceptualized, that it will keep the Indian spirit alive in the hearts of the audience for a long time.
Bharat Rang Mahotsav has become an international event today, and is probably the biggest Theatre festival in the world, in which more than 100 theater groups from all over the world participate every year. Along with the theatrical performances, the parallel exhibitions, director-audience dialogues,
discussion and seminar-activities on various Theatre related topics, make it a special fair of Theatre. It is a matter of pride for every Indian that this year our country is presiding over the G-20, a global seminar is also on cards to celebrate this glorious occasion.
On this occasion, the performance venue is often converted into a fair venue, where the atmosphere ranging from modern experiments to folk and traditional theater culture, becomes a strong proclamation of public acceptance to this festival. The National School of Drama successfully organized the 8th Theater Olympics in the year 2018 from February 17 to April 8, under the Bharat Rang Mahotsav, in which more than 350 theater groups from India and around the world participated, and
this grand event is a subject of debate amongst the Theatre goers even today, world wide. Similarly, it can give credence to the fact that the 22nd Bharat Rang Mahotsav, 2023, which will be organized during the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ period, will also set new benchmarks in the world of Theatre.
