Where is Telugu drama?

Theatre artistes express their views on the scenario of Telugu drama industry

Drama is a powerful medium to communicate; it involves the audience in real time. Moreover the influence of the artiste on audience is much more than any other visual media. With regards to the Telugu theatre industry, different versions are heard, such as “the Telugu drama is at downfallen stage” and that “Telugu theatre has not reached national level”.

In another version, the opinion is that the industry is surviving only because of parishads and that the productions are fixed to that parishad’s frame. Unless the production units and writers come out of parishad clutches, national level experimental plays will not stage in the city. In this regard, theatre persons of the city have expressed their views on the present situation of the Telugu drama industry.

Pasumarthy Vijaya Bhaskara Sarma, General Secretary of Sumadhura Kala Niketan said, “In Andhra Pradesh about 50 organisations are conducting drama competitions, out of which, 50 to 60 per cent of them are enjoyable.

These dramas give momentary entertainment or is remembered not for more than months unlike the old plays like NR Nandi’s ‘Maro Mohenjodaro’, Gollapudi Maruthi Rao’s ‘Raga Ragini’, and Adivishnu’s ;’Sidhartha’. He opined that the best scripts to come not only with the incorporation of present problems but also some experimental drams for future generations.”

Rampilla Mohana Krishna, Secretary, Telugu Artists Federation and also Founder, Maheswari Prasad comedy club expressed, “Even after so many plays being staged every year, not many of them can be considerd as close to national standards. There is talent in telugu theatre but they will need more vigorous training to match up to the national standards.”

He also appeals to the Government to introduce the theater courses in colleges and conduct regular workshops on theatre. Voruganti Prabhakar, senior theatre artiste expressed that there is no much infrastructure to produce a good and technically valued play. He said that some productions are coming with technical values, but due lack of proper training they have become futile.

He advised the directors to have systematic knowledge before staging a play with technical inputs. He hoped that good productions with good story and human values will be introduced in the coming years. Prabhakar felt that the artistes are to become veracious readers to gain knowledge from old and famous scripts so as to observe the charterers and its complexities.

R Vasudeva Rao, young stage director said, “These days many youngsters are coming to take part in plays. But fund constraints hinder Telugu theatre.” He expressed that corporate companies should come forward and sponsor the productions or they even can adopt a good production unit just like in the sports field. He further said that Telugu theatre is also facing problem due to lack of technical infrastructure.

He also said that a city like Vijayawada is not having a full-fledged auditorium to stage a play. He urged the authorities to take necessary practical steps to promote theatre. R Rajeswari, an artiste said that the Telugu theatre is not given importance as much as with other languages. She felt that may be only because lack of proper training.

She urged the cultural department to take necessary steps to conduct seminars and demonstrative lectures on theatre with exponents of different crafts to improve the knowledge. She also demanded that national level stage drama festivals should also be organised in Vijayawada to observe the developments taken place in other languages too.

By HVRS PRASAD