A day after the Bahuroopi National Theatre Festival concluded at Rangayana here, the organisers on Thursday said the festival was a big success with footfall of over one lakh in a span of six days, the highest in recent years.
As many as 21 plays were staged and almost all of them saw packed audience. The repertory raised ₹6.30 lakh by selling tickets which is more than last year’s ticket collection.
At a press conference here on Thursday, Rangayana Director Addanda C. Cariappa said the people of Mysuru are responsible for Bahuroopi’s success. “All of us worked like a hockey team to put up a successful show. It turned out to be a grand show with the people fostering different ideologies taking part in the festival.”
The Mysuru district administration and the Mysuru ZP supported the Rangayana for putting up the show which was themed on Mahatma Gandhi – Gandhi Patha.
“If I have done anything wrong, criticise and correct me. I have no hidden agenda and I have come here for the sake of Rangayana. Those criticising me are my friends and the doors of Rangayana are always open to them. I may have a different ideology but I don’t have to agree to the ideology nurtured by them and they too need not concur with mine. We need to respect everyone’s views in a democracy,” Mr. Cariappa said in an apparent reply to the controversy surrounding him over his recent remarks against Tipu Sultan.
Rangayana Joint Director Mallikarjunaswamy said Bahuroopi, which drew around 65,000 people last year, attracted more than one lakh this year.
“We could not meet the demand since our auditoriums were small and people had turned up in big numbers to watch the plays. The response was magnanimous and the support was very generous.”
The first day of the festival saw about 15,000 persons and the number went up to 25,000 on the second and third day respectively. On the concluding day, thousands of people thronged the repertory till 11 p.m. “We got new audiences this year and enthusiasm among the youth was remarkable,” he added.
Among the plays staged, “Mukhyamantri”, the Kannada play with “Mukhyamantri” Chandru in the lead, saw the maximum audience at Kalamandira. Other Kannada plays and multilingual plays also saw packed houses as there was variety and quality, he said.
Mr. Cariappa said “Mahadev Bai”, “Mahatma” and “Gandhi Vs Gandhi” were among the plays appreciated by the audience besides Yakshagana. “It was a complete show for everyone.”
On the festival being organised in February instead of January, Mr. Mallikarjunaswamy said the people, especially senior citizens, have liked the timing because of chill weather in January. “We are looking forward to other programmes lined up for the coming months with Chinnara Mela in summer.”
