Punjab can be termed as a pioneer in taking the theatre to the village level and strengthening its roots.
A noted theatre personality in Punjab, Kewal Dhaliwal said, "We have adopted a village Preet Nagar, which was famous as writers' village in pre-independence era and fell on the Amirtsar-Lahore route, and organize a play on the 3rd Wednesday of every month."
"Village theatre is very popular in Punjab and over 100 groups are active in the entire state," Dhaliwal said here.
He was recently in Jodhpur to attend a national level seminar on theatre along with many noted theatre personalities of the country.
C Dasan, a theatre artist from Kerala said today's theatre is breaking barriers and expanding in terms of with many experiments in place.
"The theatre, today, is going back to the basics. It is live, spontaneous and flexible, which can fit in every condition in terms of canvas, backdrop and audience," Dasan asserted.
The artists have started identifying the needs of the target audience and besides promoting it through social networking sites, have started presenting the theatre in small and simple plays and also in the form of short films, he said.
Not only this, but some enthusiastic theatre artists have taken it into the schools and are associating the school children with this art.
"Besides developing an interest in the theatre, this helps in developing the personality of the students and helps them even in their studies," argued an artist from Jodhpur, Vikas Kapoor.
With these sporadic initiatives, the fraternity is also unequivocal about the perception that there should be concerted and integrated efforts, under which the artists from different region should join hands and bring the theater to the level where it could compete with the other modern means of entertainment.
"Only then, the theatre can regain its lost glory and popularity," said Ravi Jhankal, a theater and film artist.
