Kolkata: The second National Urdu Drama Festival will be organised from December 26 onwards at the Kala Mandir. “The festival will showcase the best talents in Urdu language theatre today,” Trinamul Congress MP Sultan Ahmed, who is also the chairman of the West Bengal Urdu Academy’s cultural committee, announced on Wednesday. During the four-day-long festival, works of Mohammed Ali Baig (Hyderabad), Shri Mushtaq Kak (Jammu & Kashmir), legendary playwright Habib Tanvir and S. M. Azhar Alam (Kolkata) will be staged.
Asserting that the festival has evoked enormous interest among theatre and film personalities of the country, Mr Ahmed said, “Urdu academy has bigger plans for the future. We will ask (film director) Mahesh Bhatt and (actor) Naseeruddin Shah to be involved with the festival from next year.”
President of Little Thespian Uma Jhunjhunwala voiced her happiness over the growth of Urdu and other language theatres.
“The proof is that the festival will be held over four days this year as compared to two days last year,” she said. Prof. Manal Shah Alquadri, vice chairman, West Bengal Urdu Academy, said he was determined to see Urdu drama receive its rightful place.
