Three Arts Club in collaboration with the Katyayani theatre group presents three of the popular Hindi plays by social satirist Ramesh Mehta at Shri Ram Center, 4, Safdar Hashmi Marg > 6:30pm on 28th-30th September 2012

Time : 6:30 pm

Entry : Free (Seating on First-Come First-Served basis)

Place : Shri Ram Center for Performing Arts (SRCPA), 4, Safdar Hashmi Marg, Mandi House, New Delhi-110001
Venue Info : Events | About | Map | Nearest Metro Station - 'Mandi House(Blue Line)'

Event Details : Three Arts Club in collaboration with the Katyayani  theatre group will celebrate the work of social satirist Ramesh Mehta by organizing a festival of three of his most popular Hindi plays.
Recipient of the  Sangeet Natak Akademi Award,  Ramesh Mehta  was a famous actor, director and playwright who expired on May 29, 2012. “Ramesh Mehta was undoubtedly one of Hindi theatre’s greatest personalities and the festival is our way of paying a tribute to him”, said Sohaila Kapur, who is directing all the plays that will be staged during the festival. 
According to Anuradha Dar, “The best part about these plays is that although they were written decades ago based on common themes in India during the 50s and 60s, I feel they are very relevant even today and I invite  everyone to come and enjoy them. 

Schedule : 
Mehta’s popular satire Paisa Bolta Hai (Fri, Sept 28), Uljhan (Sat, Sept 29) which was the first Hindi play to be staged by the Indian Armed Forces and will conclude with the delightful comedy Under Secretary (Sun, Sept 30). 

28th September : Dr Anuradha Kapur, Director, National School of Drama will inaugurate the festival 
Mr Shekhar Kapur, Film maker will be the Guest of Honour
Followed by staging of the play Paisa Bolta Hai of 50’s & 60’s
Adaptation from Kanchanranga Bengali play by Shambhu Mitra, this play broke all records of popularity.
Paisa Bolta Hai talks about the primacy of money in our lives. A maltreated menial finds his life 
transformed after a financial windfall. Life in the house goes topsy turvy after the incident. The play celebrated its diamond jubilee when it ran initially and is still one of Mehta’s most popular satires.     
29th September : Uljhan written in 1955 Ramesh Mehta is also credited with writing the farce play Uljhan, the first Hindi play staged by the Indian Armed Forces. This play was written by him at the desire of Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa, who wanted that the Indian Armed Forces should also do plays in Hindi, the national language, after having attained independence. Uljhan is a youthful, romantic comedy about an astute Bluffmaster who is outwitted in his own game by the beautiful woman he falls for. 
30th September : Under Secretary written in 1958 
His farce Under Secretary has broken all records of popularity. It has been such a great attraction that it has been translated in many India languages including Tamil, Malayalam, Sindhi, Bengali, Gujrati etc. This play is being performed even today in Hindi as well as in other languages in many cities of India and abroad. Under Secretary focuses on middle class hypocrisy, Mehta’s favourite theme. 

About the theatre groups :
Three Arts Club works for promotion of Art and Culture through the media of dance, drama, music and other art forms. Before its revival in 2008, TAC enthralled and entertained its audiences for four decades (1943-1983). Former Prime Ministers and Presidents such as Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Dr. Zakir Hussain, Shri Charan Singh and other luminaries graced its plays. The Club also has the 
distinction of being the first ones to give a platform to women on the Delhi stage.
Katyayani theatre group was registered in 1994 and has produced English plays since then with top Delhi talents, including the veteran, Zohra Sehgal. Its plays have travelled to South East Asia, the Middle East, North America and Europe. Sohaila Kapur is its director.

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