Spring Theatre Festival: Hope For Revival Of Theatres In Kashmir

It is for the first time that Ridha, a 12th class student from Mallinson Girls School, Srinagar has seen a theater. ¡°I had no idea what theatre is all about and I got to see it for the first time in my life,¡± she said.

Ridha performed the lead role in the play titled ¡®Social Evils in Our Society¡¯. ¡°It was totally a new experience as I have never acted on the stage. Every preparation was done in haste but we enjoyed it,¡± she told Indiatimes.

Idrees Bukhtiyar

Another student, Warda said that theatre is the need of the hour in the valley. ¡°It is the right time that theatres should be reopened in Kashmir. The students, especially the youth, are interested in it and want such activities to take place here too,¡± she said.

"Best way of communication"

¡°I believe this is the best way of communication and to take your message forward to a larger audience. Our play has a message for the society,¡± Warda said.

Haziq Javaid, a student of Tyndale Biscoe School who was the part of the play ¡®Hugs not Drugs¡¯ said, ¡°Kashmir can produce good artists but the condition is that they need the right platform to showcase their talent and I believe that such theatre festivals are very important for the budding actors.¡±

Idrees Bukhtiyar

On the occasion of World Theatre Day, Actors¡¯ Creative Theatre (ACT) in collaboration with J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL) inaugurated the second edition of ¡®Spring Theatre Festival¡¯ at Tagore Hall, Srinagar. The seven day festival will conclude on 2nd April. The students from different schools and colleges have participated in these plays.

It is pertinent to mention here that if theatre is reviving back in Kashmir, it is only possible because of the one man army- Mushtaaque Ali Ahmad Khan.

Who Is Mushtaaque?

Mushtaaque is also known as the ¡®festival man¡¯ of Kashmir. In 2017, he took an initiative to bring world-class films to the valley and Bollywood stars as well. He is organizing the film festival titled - ¡®Kashmir World Film Festival¡¯ in Srinagar and so far four editions have been completed.

Idrees Bukhtiyar

Born and brought up in Srinagar, Mushtaaque has acted in and has directed more than two dozen stage plays. He is one of the leading filmmakers of Kashmir and for the last more than three decades he has produced and directed more than 300 documentaries, telefilms, and episodes of serials.

Festival director Mushtaaque said that the main purpose of this festival is to start the theatre activities once again after many years. ¡°We have involved the masses, especially the youth of our UT, who have been missing these activities since long,¡± he said.

¡°The students of different schools and colleges of Kashmir have actively participated in the festival,¡± Khan said, adding, ¡°Few plays from Jammu were also staged and we got a chance of showcasing plays in different languages like Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu and Hindi.¡±

He said that they got to witness the unexplored and fresh talent of the valley. ¡°The interesting part is that these students have come up with amazing stories connected to our daily lives which give us lessons to learn,¡± he said.

What theatre artists say?

Idrees Bukhtiyar

Tahir Najar, a Kashmiri actor said that Kashmir needs theatre desperately. ¡°I have learnt a lot from the theatre in a short span of time. It teaches you every art of life and I believe that if there is no theatre, there is no life,¡± he said.

Zameer Ashai, another Kashmiri actor said, ¡°Mushtaaque has been desperately working to provide the space to the artists, especially youth and is making efforts to revive the theatres activities in the valley. We all should support him.¡±

Government ready to help

Idrees Bukhtiyar

Sarmad Hafeez, Secretary Culture & Tourism J&K said he is happy that theatres are reviving back in the valley. ¡°There was a time when our artists and youth had suffered but now things are turning normal and theatres are coming back,¡± he said.

Sarmad said that Kashmiri youth have tremendous talent but need a platform to showcase it. ¡°We have done a tie-up with the National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi and soon we would be holding the classes for the youth as well,¡± he said.

¡°We are also planning to set up such schools where artists can be taught about theatres,¡± he added.

Director Tourism Kashmir G N Itoo said, ¡°We have been promoting the valley¡¯s art, culture, handicraft and cuisine but now we will work and see how we can promote the theatre culture of Kashmir so the visitors from outside the valley could get to see it.¡±

Idrees Bukhtiyar

¡°We are ready to provide all the support to Mushtaaque and his team whenever needed,¡± he assured.

Before the 90s, a lot of theatre activities used to take place in the valley but after the outbreak of militancy, theater was a major casualty and artists¡¯ community suffered a lot but now this festival has given high hopes to them.

For more on news, explainers and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.