Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha

Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha

Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha
Born 8 May 1953
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
Nationality Indian
Education Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts
Occupation Theatre director, actor, playwright,academician
Years active 1974–present
Spouse(s) Neelam Kulshreshtha
Parent(s) Kameshwar Nath Kulshreshtha
Girija Devi
Family Tuhin Kulshrestha (son)
Nitin Kulshreshtha (son)
Anushree Dube (daughter in law)
Neha Dhanuka (daughter in law)

Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha (born 8 May 1953), popularly known as Baba, is an eminent Theatre director, actor, playwright and academician. He has been a former director of Bhartendu Academy of Dramatic Arts(2006–2009) and is also the founder of NIPA Rangmandali theatre group.

As a director he has directed over 100 plays staged in India and other countries like Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, US and Pakistan. He is best known for his experiments in various genres like Indian Classical, Folk, Realism, Absurd, Brechtian, Comedy, Farce, Abstract and Street plays. But, the life force in all his works has been his own unique style – A Minimal Theatre in which content and the actors are most important.

His repertoire includes classical Sanskrit plays like Bhagwat-ajjukeeyam and Kund Mala, folk plays like Dulari Bai, Veer Lorik, Ramleela, modern Hindi Indian plays like Ashadh Ka Ek Din, Aadhe-Adhure, Vasaansi Jeernani, western plays like Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, Maxim Gorky's Enemy, Ibsen's Ghost, Sartre's Men Without Shadows, Sophocles' Oedipus, Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle etc.

His works reflect a deep concern towards the society and have always been relevant for the contemporary times. Recurring themes in his work are anti-communalism, anti-war, women empowerment, search for truth, existentialism and psychological exploration of human emotions and relations.

As an actor his nuanced portrayal of Socrates in Barefoot in Athens won huge appreciations.[1] He has also acted in films that have won national and international accolades. Monsoon Shootout was nominated for Cannes Film Festival's midnight screening[2] and Bhagavad Gita won the Golden Lotus at the National Film Awards. He also worked as the Assistant Director and Production Controller of the film Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin by Sudhir Mishra, that won a National Film Award.

He has written several plays like Mrig Trishna (A play on Buddha's life and principles) and done adaptations of various plays in Hindi like Bhagwat-Ajjukkeyam by Bodhayan, Balkan Women by Jules Tasca etc. He has also staged poetries like Muktibodh's Andhere mein and Ghazal ka safar, stories like Amarkant's Moos, Hatyare and Premchand's Satgati to novels like Nauker ki Kameez.

He has also been an pronounced academician and has conducted various theatre workshops and lectures in both India and abroad. He is also a visiting faculty to various universities like Lucknow University, Allahabad University, BHU, Kashi Vidyapeeth, Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya etc. Along with being a pioneer in the field of theatre, he has also been actively involved in cultural and social activism. He has conducted various seminars and has given lectures on various issues facing the society.

For his illustrious contributions to the field of theatre, he has been honoured with prominent awards like Kala Bhushan Samman and Sangeet Natak Acagemy Award. He has also been awarded a senior fellowship for research on Bharat Muni's Natyashastra, which is in progress.

Early life

Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha was born in Agra. Uttar Pradesh on 8 May 1953. Ever since childhood he had an inclination towards theatre which manifested itself in the form of performances on occasions like Janamashtmi and Ramlila in the local community. Being a bright science graduate, he joined MSc in Geology from Lucknow University, but owing to the bad economic situation of the family, he could not complete his post-graduation and took up a job in LIC. He then came in contact with a few friends who were working for a theatre group in Lucknow – Meghdoot. To translate this interest into serious theatre, he joined Bhartyendu Natya Academy in 1976. In 1982, he got married to Neelam Kulshreshtha, who has ever since been an inspiring support for him – taking up all the family responsibilities so that he could concentrate whole heartedly towards theatre.

Theatre Education & Progression

Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha started serious theatre with Meghdoot in 1974. He joined BNA in its first batch in 1976–77, for a formal training in theatre with a specialisation in direction. He also joined an advanced theatre workshop with the American director Roger Simon. Working with Meghdoot, he also became a member of the National Council of IPTA. In 1991, he got a chance to perform on an international stage, when a play directed by him – Bhagwajjukeeyam, got selected for the World Theatre Festival in Norway. The play was highly appreciated and was declared the best performance of the festival. In the later half of 1991, he founded his own group NIPA Rangmandali (National Institute of Progressive Arts) with Mridula Bharadwaj being the general secretary of the group. Since then, the group has performed various plays in India and abroad and is one of the reputed theatre groups in India, winning various accolades and giving exceptional performances.

Career

Director

Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha has been able to develop his own unique style of theatre – the minimalistic theatre, where the characters become the key ingredient. The greatest example of this style came when he did a one of its kind experiment by directing a play in Finland, having a mix of Indian and Finnish actors – both speaking their respective languages. The play was very well appreciated by both Indian and Finnish audiences and established that theatre has its own language of communication. Over the years Surya Mohan Kulshreshtha has directed more than 100 plays which have been appreciated both in India and worldwide. He has also designed sets, costumes and lights for most of his plays.[3]

List of major productions

Actor

Playwright (Original, Adaptation and Translation)

Films and Television

Educationist

References

External links

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