The ongoing Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM), Asia’s largest theatre extravaganza organised by the National School of Drama (NSD) here, has plays from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, minus Pakistan. The official reason: Pakistani plays were “not good enough” for selection. This edition of the BRM also does not have any Chinese or Urdu plays.
Of the 12 countries staging 14 out of the 94 performances this year, spectators will not get to see any plays from Pakistan. Downplaying any specific reason for the absence of Pakistani plays this year, NSD director Waman Kendre said, “Pakistan had sent applications, but the committee found their plays not up to the level of selection. Quality is the only criterion we keep in mind and they failed to match the required standards.”
An NSD official told The Sunday Guardian: “We have a neutral 40-member selection committee. In the past, many shows by Pakistani artistes have been cancelled or faced disruptions. Also, after the recent Pathankot and other Pakistan-supported terrorist attacks, one cannot rule out the possibility of negative interest in Pakistani plays.”
He also said that a record-breaking number of applications were sent to the selection committee from across the world, including 602 applications from India. It is not only Pakistani plays that are missing; even those from China were rejected by the NSD selection committee.
Among the languages, Hindi and Bangla plays seem to attract the maximum audience at the BRM, as 45 of the 94 performances are in these two languages. Urdu plays, however, couldn’t manage to secure the NSD green light. The last edition of the BRM had only one Urdu play; prior to that, the BRM has always witnessed two or more plays in Urdu.
According to another NSD official, last year, two plays from Pakistan — “Among Fog” by the NAPA Repertory Theatre and “Akhiyaan” by Azad Theatre — were selected. Theatre lovers have been showing great interest in the plays from Pakistan.
Sazia Hasan, a theatre artiste, said: “I was expecting a few plays from Pakistan as they could prove to be a great meeting point for the two cultures and help lessen the mistrust between the two countries.”
In 2013, the NSD had cancelled Pakistani plays due to escalating tensions between India and Pakistan at the time. Many people, including several Indian theatre directors, feel that the NSD has deliberately not been featuring Pakistani plays.