Bloody Bombay, Hind 1957, and Paolo Avataneo’s Exclamation Mark!

Vibrant colours, creative energy and pulsating hues of Bharat Rang Mahotsav 2026 at NSD and Mandi House in Delhi: Don’t miss it.

By Raju Mansukhani

It's happening in New Delhi, a wide array of curated and allied theatre festival that can take one's breath away!

Centred around the green expanse of the National School Drama (NSD) at Bahawalpur House, the Bharat Rang Mahotsav 2026 is creative spread across multiple venues in and around the bustling Mandi House in Central Delhi. On bright sunny days, the trees, shrubs and flowers in full bloom give the Mahotsav an incomparable setting as the festival provides a much-needed platform for theatre companies, their directors, actors and production teams, dramatists and theatre-lovers.

It’s truly a Rang de Basanti mood till 20^th February 2026.

Huge colourful billboards and posters, all around the roundabout, declare the range of programmes: Adirang Mahotsav (tribal theatre, dance and crafts), Jashne Bachpan (children’s theatre), Bal Sangam (folk dance and drama by children), Poorvottar Natya Samaroh (North-Eastern theatre), Puppet Theatre Festival, Dance Drama Festival, Classical Sanskrit Drama Festival, and a Micro Drama Festival make the Mahotsav the 'world’s largest theatre festival'. 

That's an amazing feat and one lauds the management of such a humongous exercise, bringing thousands of professionals together to perform, year after year.

For the Ministry of Culture and the National School of Drama it's an achievement to be proud of: to be celebrating 25 years of theatrical excellence. Bharat Rang Mahotsav 2026 is spanning over 40 locations across India and one country on each continent. The festival features 277 Indian and 12 international productions, presented in different languages and dialects, showcasing a vibrant blend of traditional theatre forms, contemporary experiments, and cross-cultural dialogue.

When the Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, inaugurated the Mahotsav 2026 on 27 January, 2026, he highlighted the role of Bharat Rang Mahotsav as a powerful platform that connects India’s diverse cultural traditions, stories, and artistic expressions with audiences across the world. He emphasized that such festivals help transform global perceptions of India’s art and culture by enabling a deeper understanding of the nation’s rich cultural heritage on an international stage.

Quite naturally, the prestigious opening ceremony on 27 January 2026 was graced by eminent dignitaries from the fields of art, culture, cinema, and theatre. Guests of honour included Vivek Aggarwal, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, with Special Guest Ms. K. Nandini Singla, Director General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Rang Doot, and Ms. Mita Vashisht, noted actor and National School of Drama alumna. The ceremony was chaired by Prof. Bharat Gupt, Vice Chairperson, NSD Society and Padma Shri awardee. The welcome address was delivered by Chittaranjan Tripathy, Director, NSD, and the vote of thanks was presented by Shri Pradeep K. Mohanty, Registrar, NSD. The programme was compered by Shrivardhan Trivedi, noted actor and NSD alumnus.

The evening saw the launch of NSD App-based Radio Station Rang Akash and the NSD OTT platform Naatyam, inaugurated by Union Minister Shekhawat, marking a significant step in strengthening NSD’s digital and global outreach.

On to the stage

Glimpses and vignettes from the Mahotsav 2026 which held audiences spellbound. Like Paolo Avataneo’s ‘!’ which presented a surreal visual solo comedy with characters in various styles like mime with music and noises, gibberish, body percussion, and eccentric buffoonish theatre.

The show incorporates the local language wherever it is presented. The protagonist initially disturbed with the happenings of the world, a mischievous elf, and perturbed by history’s silence, eventually finds a way to work involving bold neologisms, and trilling sounds which Paolo creates vocally without any tools.

The play is a colourful fantasy with surprises galore, effluvia of nonsense, and abstract language, acting as ingredients of this slurpy vinaigrette. Paolo is trained in Philip Radice’s physical theatre at the Atelier in Turin. He is a performance artist whose visual comedies are for both children and adults. His plays and workshops have been organized across the globe. He experiments with new methods of acting trying to make them comical and more accessible to everyone in different parts of the world.

In contrast is Aaina (The Mirror), a living folktale – part myth, part comedy, yet deeply touching. Set in the Satpuda ranges of Khandesh, it follows a carefree family – mother, father, son, and daughter – whose life is simple, untouched by modernity.

No electricity, no mobiles -- only forests, rivers, hills, and the warmth of togetherness. 

One day, some strange, amusing objects enter their home, including a mirror that changes everything. Seeing their reflections for the first time, the family is startled, puzzled, amused, and even scared, sparking a playful, innocent chaos. Through this mirror unfolds a story of relationships, self-discovery, and the simple joys of life, human connection, curiosity, and the magic of self-discovery.

The writer, Yogesh Manohar Bhandari, is a playwright having over 20 years of experience in theatre and cinema. Having done extensive work in experimental theatre, Yogesh is a versatile figure in contemporary Marathi drama celebrated for playwriting, direction, adaptation, and dramatization in regional dialects. Director Bhalchandra Pandit is renowned for his experimental theatre and one-act plays.

In Angina Jure Bhor, the spotlight is on the dying art of mask theatrical dance form in  Gomira, South Dinajpur, West Bengal. A young research scholar named Nafeez visits Joydeb Deb Sharma, the owner of an imaginary, dilapidated theatre hall, Radha Rani Mancha, located somewhere in North Kolkata. Joydeb, an octogenarian, lives with his blind wife, Damayanti Sen, who is suffering from mild cognitive impairment.

He initially shows no interest in helping Nafeez with his research project, but after much persuasion, he finally gives in and starts narrating his story to Nafeez who is immediately drawn into the journey of Joydeb, a young Gomira Dancer from a small village of Khagail in Dinajpur to Kolkata theatre.

Emotional roller-coaster

Hind 1957, directed by Feroz Abbas Khan and written by the highly-talented Vikas Bahari, kept the audience spellbound, and often stunned in silence, at the Kamani Auditorium. A quintessential family drama that dealt with the shattered dreams of its patriarch, burdened by history, prejudice and discrimination. 

His young sons do not share his despondency. They believe, the future world will be a better place. As the family secrets unravel and the confrontations intensify, the audience is taken on an emotional roller-coaster. Issues of communalism, social hatred, police insensitivity were highlighted and brought to life in today's time and age.

Sachin Khedekar as the patriarch was a lesson in acting; he held forth for almost two hours and the applause at the curtain call was a tribute to his growing skills. Feroz Abbas Khan is the international and national award-winning film and theatre director and screenwriter. His major productions Tumhari Amrita, Salesman Ramlal, Mughal-E-Azam, Raunaq n Jassi and The Great Indian Musical: Civilization to Nation are considered landmark events in Indian theatre.

Feroz said, "There is something serendipitous about how a script lands up on your desk almost dictating you to bring it alive on stage. I was not looking out for this play but it found me and having read it I was never the same again. August Wilson’s masterpiece Fences possessed me with the broken voices and hopelessness of the characters who want dignity and demand justice in an unequal world. It is a shared world of hope and despondency. Vikas Bahri, is a very rare voice that is sensitive to the power of language to disrupt and change. His Hindustani version compelled me to mount an audacious production and let the audience declare verdict. Hind 1957 means a lot to me personally and a reminder to the nation of its constitutional promise to treat every citizen with dignity and equal rights."

In Bloody Bombay, the struggle for life and success was dramatized, raising the question, "Life changes you or you change your life”. Everyone knows about Nawazuddin Siddiqui, the famous actor. He exists but where has he been? He was there in Mumbai. He is an inspiration for many. He is not just a name anymore. He is an icon; someone from a small town in Western UP who could make it big in Indian cinema with his sheer talent. But it took 17 years for him to make his name in the cinema firmament.

There are many actors who can be the next Nawaz. Mumbai, the city of dreams, has so many such actors who did not get that one chance, and those who are still waiting for that one chance; they are commonly known as ‘strugglers’. But what is the actual journey?

Let us experience their journey. A journey of human emotions, ethics, and existence. Bloody Bombay is an amalgam of stories of struggle, survival, and success. Its director, Happy Ranajit is an alumnus of the National School of Drama 2008 batch. He has acted in more than 60 plays with many eminent national and international directors.

He gained critical acclaim for his performance as Eilert Lovberg in the play Hedda Gabler staged in Ibsen Festival 2009. He received the best actor award at the Mahindra theatre awards festival 2010 for his performance in the play Roop Aroop. He also won the best actor award at the international GATS theatre festival for the play Richard III at Beijing, China.

The festival of Bharat Rang Mahotsav 2026 continues till 20 February, 2026 to enthrall. Don’t miss it.

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Photo Captions:

1.     Thousands keep passing by the busy Mandi House roundabout.

2.     The past in the present – history of NSD productions on display.

3.     Aaina – the simplicity and complexity of life in this play

4.     Hind 1957 – Bringing history alive to stun the audience into silence

5.     Paolo Avataneo’s ‘!’ broke all barriers of communication

Photo-credits:   Photo 1, 2 – Raju Mansukhani; Photo 3, 4, 5 – Courtesy National School of Drama.

Raju Mansukhani is a researcher-writer on history and heritage

issues; contributing columns and features in leading Indian and foreign newspapers and portals.