Bhanu Bharti (born 1947) is an Indian theatre director, playwright and the founding director of ''Aaj Rangmandal'' theatre group. Most known for his theatre productions and choreographies with tribal and folk artists, including ''Pashu Gayatri'' by K.N. Panikkar, ''Kaal Katha'' and ''Amar Beej'', all are based on rituals of the Bhil tribe of

Mewar Mewar, also spelled as Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasth ...

region of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, apart from ''Chandrama Singh urf Chamku Das'', ''Yamgatha'' and ''Aks-Tamasha'', counting to over 70 plays in a career spanning nearly four decades.

Early life and education

Bhanu Bharti was born in 1947 in

Ajmer Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...

, Rajasthan. He graduated from

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a drama school situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an independent school ...

in 1973, winning the Best all Round student and the best Director awards. Later he studied traditional theatre of Japan at the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

Career

He has over fifty productions to his credit. His major works are: ''Chandrama Singh urf Chamku'', ''Ras Gandharva'', ''Azar Ka Khwab'', and Yamgatha. His productions like ''Pashu Gayatri'', ''Kai Katha'', and ''Amar Beej'' are based on his study of the performances and rituals of the Bheel tribe of the Mewar region of Rajasthan. He has also directed a film on Gavari, the dance theatre of the

Bhil Bhil or Bheel refer to the various Indigenous peoples, indigenous groups inhabiting western India, including parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and are also found in distant places such as Bengal and Tripura. Though they now speak the Bhili ...

Bhanu Bharti headed the Drama Department of

Rajasthan University The University of Rajasthan, informally known as Rajasthan University (RU, ISO: Rājasthān Viśvavidyālaya), is a public state university located in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. It was founded in 1947 by an Act of the State Legislative Assembly ...

, Jaipur, from its inception in 1976 till 1978. He has also taught dramatic literature, scenic design, and acting in many renowned institutions, including NSD. He has served as the Director of the

Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts or SRC one of Delhi's best known theatres at Mandi House on Safdar Hasmi Marg, New Delhi, close to the Kendra, it is run by the Indian National Theatre Trust established in 1958 the promotion of Art and Cultu ...

, Delhi, and headed

Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal is a museum based in Udaipur in Rajasthan state in India engaged in studying folk art, culture, songs and festivals of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and to popularise and propagate folk arts, folk dances and folk ...

Udaipur Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...

and worked with

tribesmen of the Gogunda belt near Udaipur. He was also the Chairman of Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi. An artist who is perceptive enough to reveal inner psychological world of characters and the inherent philosophic and mythical undercurrents of drama, Bhanu had directed number of plays to provide his view point on many relevant social issues and worked with both rural and urban breed of actors and thus, gave Indian Theatre a new meaning altogether. In 2004, a three-day theatre festival of his plays was held at Tagore theatre,

Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...

. His 2010 play, ''Doobi Ladki'' brings together three short stories by Russian writer

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the Grotesque#In literature, grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works "The Nose (Gogol short story), ...

, including May Night, or the Drowned Maiden,

The Overcoat "The Overcoat" (, translit. Shinyél’; sometimes translated as "The Cloak" or "The Mantle") is a short story by Nikolai Gogol, published in 1842. The story has had a great influence on Russian literature. Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé, ...

, and The Nose.

Awards

Bhanu Bharti has been honoured with many prestigious National Awards for his contribution to the field of theatre including the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

in the year 1997 given by the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...

, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama,Drama Direction

Official website. Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi Award and Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

References

External links

*
Bhanu Bharti, website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bharti, Bhanu Indian male dramatists and playwrights Indian theatre directors 1947 births Living people People from Ajmer National School of Drama alumni University of Tokyo alumni Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Hindi dramatists and playwrights Dramatists and playwrights from Rajasthan Indian expatriates in Japan