IPTA’s Inter Collegiate Drama Competition scores 50, marches on

Was it the first or was it the second? Was it 1972 or 1973? My introduction to the annual competition is nevertheless at least 49 years old. I had just finished college, and could not participate. How I wished I could! But I could watch the event, and, soon afterwards, write about it, extensively, in several publications, as a theatre critic. If memory serves me right, back then, it was called IPTA’s Inter Collegiate Hindustani Short Play Competition. Quite a mouthful, that. Nowadays, the acronym is ICDC, Inter Collegiate Drama Competition. And for those unfamiliar with the theatre institution that has created and nurtured giants, IPTA stands for Indian Peoples’ Theatre Association. On 16 October 2023, the ICDC, held at P.L. Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Academy, Prabhadevi, Mumbai, was special.

Subhash B. Dangayach and Ramesh Talwar

ICDC has completed 50 years, allowing for the one year when it could not be held. IPTA decided to do its 50th in style. A long list of those who had won prizes and served as judges in previous years was prepared, and each one of them was called on stage and given a trophy. Also present were the who’s who of the theatre world. Where would you find the following in the same hall? Ashutosh Gowarikar, Makarand Deshpande, Arundhati Rao, Padmavati Rao, Latesh Shah, Sujata Mehta, Imtiaz Hussain, Manoj Joshi, Dolly Thakore, Vipul Mehta, Feroz Abbas Khan, Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi, Preeta Mathur Thakur, Om Katare, Ila Arun, Rohini Hattangadi, Kunal Kapoor, not to mention the luminaries that are part of IPTA.

A moment from Gehna, one of the finalist plays

Conceived as a tribute to Prithviraj Kapoor, by poet Kaifi Azmi, who headed IPTA for some time, the ICDC was designed by Ramesh Talwar, a former chief assistant to Yash Chopra and a film director in his own right. 51 years later, Ramesh is the Convenor of the ICDC, jointly, with Subhash B. Dangayach. Subhash participated in the Competition in its earliest years, won prizes, and joined IPTA. Ramesh is identified with ICDC, in spite of advancing years. For many years, the announcements used to be made by Farooque Shaikh. This year, a much younger man was assigned the task. The memento/trophies giving ceremony was conducted by Subhash, in three stages, between plays.

The drama of Baram

Usually, six plays are selected after an elimination round. That lasts several days. Judging so many entries is an onerous task for the Judges of the Elimination Round. These six are then performed in front of the Finals Jury, and the awards distributed to the best of the best. It was at ICDC here that I first met most of the personalities listed above. The Competition has moved to several places, though, for the first few years, Tejpal Hall, at Gowalia Tank, was its base. Each finalist play is given 45 minutes to one hour to finish its performance. A real marathon, ICDC begins at 2 pm and ends any time between 11 pm and 12. Obviously, students/supporters of particular colleges come in numbers and cheer their college-mates. On a couple of occasions, many moons ago, the students of two colleges became unruly, and IPTA had to take drastic steps. But for the rest of the five decades, it has been smooth sailing.

The Who's Who at ICDC 50

That IPTA has unearthed scores of talent in theatre, both on stage and behind it. A golden jubilee it might be, but it is no time for IPTA to rest on its laurels. I cannot imagine ICDC without Ramesh Talwar, and at its 75^th anniversary, he is going to be missed the most, along with Subhash B. Dangayach. In the meanwhile, till health permits, I can see Ramesh Talwar marshalling his troops, and marching on.

I have a lot more to say, but let these pictures do the talking.