NSD’s Bharat Rang Mahotsav concludes with over 1500 collective performances under ‘Jan Bharat Rang’

New Delhi, Feb 22 (PTI) The 25th edition of the Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM) came to a close on Wednesday evening with the National School of Drama’s collective performance initiative, ‘Jan Bharat Rang’.

Touted to be the “world’s largest theatre festival”, ‘Bharangam’ began in Mumbai on February 1 with the promise to offer theatre-goers and cultural enthusiasts a rich tapestry of Indian and global theatre traditions through more than 150 performances, workshops, discussions and master classes across 15 Indian cities.

The festival, which had opened with actor Ashutosh Rana’s play “Humare Ram”, came to an end with performances by over 1500 groups from across the country under the ‘Jan Bharat Rang’ initiative.

The drama school introduced the ‘Jan Bharat Rang’ initiative to bring together short performances by different performing arts groups across the country around the themes of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, ‘Panch Pran’ and ‘Viksit Bharat’ to mark the closing of the theatre festival.

The participating groups performed at a venue convenient to them at their respective locations.

The performances were recorded on a registered portal and showcased on a screen at the drama school, making it “the largest-ever collective live performance by a theatre institution”.

The feat was recognised as a world record by a representative of the World Book of Records.

“This is an amazing idea. It is a huge thing to hold performances around the theme of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. Today, when the world is getting divided, PM Modi’s thought of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ has healing powers. It is even better when it is done through theatre. In Bharatmuni’s ‘Natyashastra’, it is said that the entire world can be united through theatre. It is a matter of happiness and pride that National School of Drama could do it,” NSD chairman and actor Paresh Rawal told PTI.

The institute also staged a play, “Samudra Manthan”, on Wednesday to formally conclude the theatre festival.