National Theatre Festival Rangrezz-2019 concludes at Chitkara University

Intriguing storyline, invigorating performances, fascinating forms, and distinctive voices – Chitkara University's National Theatre Festival, Rangrezz-2019, was a perfect blend of these, and more.

The two-Day National Theatre Festival was held on September 27-28 at Chitkara University, Punjab campus, with over 140 teams participating from 20 states across the country. This year's theme for Rangrezz was 'Light to Enlighten'.

In a traditional lamp lighting ceremony, Chitkara University Vice-Chancellor Dr Madhu Chitkara, declared the National Theatre Festival – Rangrezz 2019 open, along with Guests of Honour Retail Business Head-North ICICI Bank Vishal Batra,Rajnish Sharma and Maninder Singh.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Chitkara said, "Chitkara University's National Theatre Festival - Rangrezz, aims to provide a National-level platform to the next generation of budding performers, to showcase their artistic abilities, while at the same time ensure artistic enrichment by cultivating a connect with our rich cultural heritage." “We believe complementing extra-curricular activities with education, goes a long way in helping students develop a well-rounded personality,” she added.

India's prominent theatre personalities, including Shinjini Kulkarni, Kathak Dancer & granddaughter of Kathak Maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj ji, Robin Das, eminent actor, Director & Professor, National School of Drama, theatre artist and actor Chintamani Biswal, eminent theatre artist Manoj Singh Tiger, film actor and theatre artist Sandeep Bhardwaj, film & theatre artist Anshuman Singh and theatre artist Rajan Arora marked themselves present for the event.

Talking about Chitkara University’s unique initiative to encourage and promote Performance Arts in today’s ‘digital’ times, Anshuman Singh, prominent theatre & film artist, said, "I believe each one of us has talent – but to get a huge platform like Rangrezz to display it, is a huge advantage. Back in our days, I wish we had a National-level platform like Rangrezz, where we could be recognised or encouraged for our talent. Congratulations to Chitkara University, Chandigarh for bringing to us this truly unique initiative, year after year. ”

Speaking about the unique selling proposition of theatre, Chintamani Biswal, theatre artist & actor, said, “Theatre is, of course, a reflection of life. The plight, sorrow, helplessness exhibited by the performers on stage sometimes end up closely mirroring our life – sometimes giving us a very important social message or hitting us with hard facts.” He added that the performances he reviewed at Chitkara University were “each a masterpiece in its own respect”.

Student performances continued all day long on Day-2, culminating in a grand show splashed with live performances by India's prominent theatre personalities and Rangrezz judges.

Next, Robin Das, Director & Professor, National School of Drama addressed the students about the importance of Performing Arts in personality development, while theatre artist Chintamani Biswal created a live painting, and actor & theatre artist Anshuman Singh performed a moving act.

The National Theatre Festival – Rangrezz 2019, concluded with a glittering prize distribution ceremony where Chitkara, gave away the prizes to the winning teams and honoured the judges for their valuable time and contribution to Rangrezz. In her closing address,  said, “This year, 140 teams from 20 states across India were a part of Chitkara University’s Annual National Theatre Festival Rangrezz – and we are absolutely delighted to be able to provide this platform to our budding artists. I would like to congratulate everybody for putting up a spectacular show."

 Disclaimer: This article has been published on the basis of a press communication by the college.