For the Actors, By the Actors

I was a part of my undergrad university's drama club for three years — scripting, directing, and acting across street plays, stage plays, and short films. I led the club in 2019–20, and our most memorable achievement that year was finishing third out of twenty teams in the CINTAA ACTFest Rangmanch competition.

Rangmanch at ACTFest 2019 was an inter-collegiate theatre competition spotlighting emerging stage talent, organized by the Cine & TV Artistes' Association (CINTAA). Performances were judged and celebrated by veteran Bollywood actors including Neena Gupta, Manoj Joshi, and Rajit Kapur — names that meant the world to anyone serious about the craft. ACTFest bills itself as the world's first festival "For The Actors, By The Actors," built for empowerment and networking. Beyond competitions, it featured workshops, panel discussions, and celebrity interactions — a holistic platform for anyone who lives and breathes theatre.

I acted in and co-directed — alongside Ayush Nathani — the play एक था गधा (literally: "Once there was a donkey"), a famous satirical Hindi play written by the celebrated poet and playwright Sharad Joshi. Known for its sharp, humorous take on bureaucracy, politics, and social hypocrisy, the play has endured as a timeless piece of Indian theatre.

Set in the fictional kingdom of Hinchistan, the story revolves around the death of a common man's donkey — which spirals into a comically exaggerated national crisis. To save face, the king (my character) and his ministers turn the donkey into a martyr, delivering over-the-top speeches and hollow honors. Through witty dialogue and farcical situations, Joshi makes you think about how real issues are ignored while meaningless matters are blown out of proportion for political gain. The message hits home without ever getting preachy, which is exactly why Ek Tha Gadha remains relevant decades after it was written.

That was my last year with the drama club, and I left it with great pride — and even greater friends.