Promising financial and institutional support to aspiring theatre artists,LNJ Bhilwara announced the winners of Bhilwara Natya Puraskar,a unique endevour by a business house to promote Hindi theatre in the country. Screening of three short-listed plays Main Rahi Masoom,Ambedkar aur Gandhi,and Chanakya took place at Delhis Shri Ram Centre after which the jury decided to give the first prize to Manoj Joshis play Chanaykya while Main Rahi Masoom directed by Prof Bhaskar Shewalkar got the second prize. The winner gets a cash prize of rupees two lakhs and the runner up team was given away rupees one lakh with citation and trophy. Panna Bharat Ram and Vinay Bharat Ram were the Chief Guest and the Guest of Honour,respectively,on the award ceremony. The jury members included LN Jhunjhunwala,Chairman Emeritus,LNJ Bhilwara Group, Prof Mohan Maharishi,former director National School of Drama,Rajendra Bagrodia,industrialist & philanthropist,and Bharat Gupt,the eminent theater theorist from Delhi University. After the first round of screening,in September this year the Bhilwara Natya Puraskar Committee had announced the three shortlisted plays as well as the process through which they were filtered. Entries had been solicited from theatre groups and institutes from all over India. Out of more than twenty plays evaluated, three plays were shortlisted for the award this year. They were Main Rahi Masoom (directed by Prof Bhaskar Shewalkar,produced by Rangdhara,Hyderabad),Ambedkar aur Gandhi (directed by Arvind Gaur,produced by Asmita Theater,Delhi) and Chanakya (directed by Manoj Joshi,Manoj Joshi Creation,Mumbai). The plays were staged at New Delhis Shri Ram Centre on November 6-8,out of which the Committee headed by LN Jhunjhunwala selected the best two for the awards.
