The Golden Threshold (GT) hosted the screening of “The Players” by Gautam Sonti and Uma Magal a film about ‘Tirugata’ the travelling theatre repertory of Ninasam Theatre Institute. Tirugata takes contemporary theatre (not folk or classical) to small towns and villages across the state of Karnataka.
The film follows four actors of Tirugata in its 25th year. Journeying with Gopi, Sitara, Prashanth and Yatish as they work, plan their futures and unravel their pasts, the film looks at the impact Tirugata has had on theatre in semi-urban and rural Karnataka. The film follows their personal trajectories in presenting the Tirugata narrative.
Two plays were chosen for Tirugata’s silver jubilee: Vennisina Vyapara (William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice) and Aakash Beri (a Kannada translation of Piyush Mishra’s Gagan Damama Bajyo – on the life of Bhagat Singh). The first play was directed by K.V.Akshara, while the second was directed by Sanjay Upadhyay. Both directors are graduates of the National School of Drama.
Uma Magal is an M.A in Political Science from the University of Hyderabad and an M.A in Communication from Jamia Millia Islamia. Recalling her days at the Golden Threshold Uma said that she was very happy and proud that she got to screen her film where she once got to study.
She also was very grateful to Prof. Bhaskar Shewalkar as well as her batchmates and friends in the audience. The screening concluded with a Q & A session with Uma in an audience that included students, alumni and faculty from Theatre Arts and Communication from the S N School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad.