Rajasthani narrative drama 'Hunkaro' sweeps META theatre awards with 7 wins

Rajasthani narrative drama ''Hunkaro'' won big at the 18th edition of Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) 2023, taking home as many as seven awards across 13 categories. The event, instituted by Mahindra Group and curated by Teamwork Arts, concluded with an award ceremony on Wednesday following a week-long theatre extravaganza that began on March 23.

Directed by Mohit Takalkar and produced by Jaipur-based Ujaagar Dramatic Association, ''Hunkaro'' swept the awards night by coming on top in seven categories - light design (Vikrant Thakar), costume design (Devika Kale), ensemble, original script (Chirag Khandelwal and Arvind Charan), direction, best stage design and direction (Mohit Takalkar), and production.

''Hunkaro'' is an intriguing weave of three stories that talk about the strength of hope and how life without hope is impossible to sustain. The 90-minutes show depicted three powerful narratives, two by contemporary Rajasthani writers, Arvind Charan and Chirag Khandelwal, and the third, which laid the foundation for the entire performance, by the renowned Rajasthani writer, Vijaydan Detha.

The jury comprised theatre director Amal Allana; theatre and film actor Arundhati Nag; theatre director Bruce Guthrie; theatre director Neelam Mansingh Chowdhry; actor Mohan Agashe; theatre artist Shernaz Patel; and director of India Habitat Centre and president of the Delhi Music Society Sunit Tandon.

For the latest edition, META shortlisted 10 plays from over 400 entries representing languages including Assamese, English, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Marwari and Tamil.

The other nominated plays were: ''Burn Out'' (Assamese), ''Chaai Garam'' (Assamese/Baganiya/Gibberish), ''Daklakatha Devikavya'' (Kannada), ''Lavani ke Rang'' (Hindi/Marathi), ''Namak'' (Hindi), ''Notion(s): In Between You & Me'' (English), ''Nooramma: Biriyani Durbar'' (Tamil), ''The Departed Dawn'' (non-verbal), and ''Via Savargaon Khurd'' (Marathi).

The award for best innovative sound design went to Moirangthem Biseshwar Singh for ''The Departed Dawn''.

Santhosh Dindagur for ''Daklakatha Devikavya'' and Victor Thoudam for ''The Departed Dawn'' jointly won the best actor award in lead role (male).

The award for best actor in supporting role (male) also went to Bharat Dingri for ''Daklakatha Devikavya''.

The ''Gullak'' fame Geetanjali Kulkarni won the best actor in supporting role (female) for ''Lavani Ke Rang''. Shakuntala Bai Nagarkar won the best actor in a lead role (female) for her performance in ''Lavani ke Rang'', while the award for best choreography was given to Victor Thoudam for ''The Departed Dawn''.

''This year's META was a veritable feast for the senses covering various topics of social relevance. Each theatrical presentation lived up to our quest for theatrical excellence and the 18th META yet again affirmed the Mahindra Group's commitment to this essential art form. Our congratulations to each of the winners, the nominees and in fact all the 395 applicants who aspired for this coveted award,'' Jay Shah, vice president and head, cultural outreach, The Mahindra Group, said in a statement.

Also at the award ceremony, acclaimed stage, film and television actor Sushma Seth was conferred the META Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to the Indian theatre. The awards night, hosted by actor Jim Sarbh, saw the participation of stalwarts including actors Manoj Bajpayee, Adil Hussain and Saurabh Shukla, celebrated folk singer Malini Awasthi; and fashion designer Ritu Beri.

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