The prestigious B.V. Karanth Smriti Puraskar instituted by the National School of Drama (NSD) has been announced for Prof. Satyabrata Rout, faculty in the Department of Theatre Arts, S N School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad (UoH).

This annual award is conferred on deserving NSD graduates in recognition of their outstanding contribution in the field of Theatre. Prof. Satyabrata Rout has been selected for his outstanding contribution in “Designing” in the field of Theatre.

This award will be presented in the last week of March 2019 in Delhi.

Dr. Satyabrata Rout, a noted scenographer and director of contemporary Indian theater practices, is a professor at the Theatre Arts Department at the UoH. Over the years he has tried to develop a unique theater language based upon Indian traditions, aesthetics, and contemporary scenography. Dr. Rout is an alumnus of the National School of Drama, New Delhi, with specialization in direction and design (1983) and earned his PhD from the C. S. University, Meerut, India (2008). He had also studied mask making and scenography in Tokyo, Japan, in 1999.

Dr. Rout has directed a number of acclaimed plays in India and abroad based on visual aesthetics and performances, such as Matte Eklavya, Animal Farm, Tumhara Vincent, Reth: Songs of the Sand, and August Ka Khwab. He has authored a number of academic books and published articles in national and international journals, and received many prestigious honours and awards, such as a Senior Fellowship Award (2000), Manohar Singh Smriti Samman (2006), Mohan Rakesh Samman (2015), and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Direction (2016).