Friday, September 7, 2012
Ramesh Mehta - The Social Satirist
- Sohaila Kapur
Playwright Ramesh Mehta was also an actor, director and translator. He was the uncrowned king of Delhi Theatre in the 1950s and 1960s, before the National School of Drama made a name for itself. He was one of the driving forces behind the Three Arts Club, the others being the group’s General Secretary, R.M. Kaul, and the principal of Modern School, M.N. Kapur, who was its President. He specialized in social satires and some of his plays like Under Secretary, Dhai Akhar Prem Ka, Dhong, Hamara Gaon, Faisla etc. have become milestones of modern Hindi theatre. His farce Under Secretary has broken all records of popularity and has been translated into many Indian languages including Tamil, Malayalam, Sindhi, Bengali and Gujarati.
Ramesh Mehta was an institution in himself. His play Hamara Gaon was performed in Teen Murti House on 13 November 1954, where Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru himself was present along with his cabinet members and other Indian and foreign dignitaries. President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, President Dr. Zakir Hussain, Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, Chief Minister (later Prime Minister) Ch. Charan Singh and many other dignitaries used to attend his plays. Film-stars like Prithviraj Kapoor, Moti Lal, Shobhana Samarth, I.S. Johar, Sunder etc. also used to watch his plays in Delhi and at Simla’s legendary Gaiety Theatre. In fact, Sunder performed many of Ramesh Mehta’s plays in Bombay (now Mumbai).
The greatness of Mehta lies not in the number of the plays he wrote, directed or acted in, but in the contribution he made, through the Three Arts Club, in promoting the culture of drama and inculcating the habit of theatre-going in Delhi-ites. The Three Arts Club performed numerous times for the Western Command Theatrical Society of the Indian Armed Forces. Theatrical groups were established in many industrial houses and establishments in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh etc. with his active support and guidance.
He was awarded the Chamanlal Memorial Award for lifetime achievement, the Sahitya Kala Parishad Delhi Award, Delhi Natya Sangh Award, Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, as well as the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2007.
The King of Comedy passed away in May this year. In commemoration, Three Arts Club and Katyayani group are holding a festival of three of his plays, Paisa Bolta Hai, Uljhan and Under Secretary, at the Shri Ram Centre, Mandi House, on Sept 28, 29 and 30, 2012.
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