The Sahitya Rangabhoomi Pratishthan has announced for the 14th year in succession its unique unconditional fellowships of Rs. 1 lakh each for five young experimental theatre activists of outstanding talent. The fellowships are known by the name ‘Tendulkar-Dubey Memorial Fellowships in Performing Arts’.
The five fellows for the year 2019-2020 are Sayalee Phatak, Abhinav Grover, Suyog Deshpande, Nachiket Devasthali and Neel Sengupta. The fellows are chosen from all over India by a committee consisting of senior theatre personalities. The fellowships will be conferred to the artists in a formal function at the hands of Ramu Ramnathan, playwright and senior critic on 24 February 2019, at 7 pm at Gharkul Lawns. The information is given by Ashok Kulkarni, Managing Trustee, Sahitya Rangabhoomi Pratishthan.
Sayalee Phatak is an Actress who is known for her work in plays like ‘A Friend’s Story’, ‘Mahanirvan’, ‘Sindhu, Sudhakar, Rum aani Itar’, ‘Geli Ekvees Varsha’ etc. She has also acted in films and television. Her performances in the television serials like ‘Chuk Bhool Dyavi Ghyavi’, ‘Dil Dosti Duniyadari’ and the upcoming movie ‘Ashleel Udyog Mitra Mandal’ are acclaimed.
Actor Nachiket Devasthali has acted in plays like ‘Ashadhateel Ek Divas’, ‘Mahanirvan’ and ‘Charshe Koti Visarbhole’. He is also involved in television and films and have given her voice to numerous audio books. He is currently a part of Sukhan, a popular ‘mehfil’ of Urdu recitations.
Neel Sengupta is a Director, Actor and Educator from Delhi. He has directed plays like ‘Gruesome Playground Injuries’, ‘Raavan Aaya’ and ‘Love, Prufrock’ etc.
Suyog Deshpande is an Actor, Director and Production Assistant. He has done some acclaimed projects like ‘Season X I Episode Y’, ‘# Hashtag’, ‘Talyat Malyat’, ‘Dashanan’ and ‘Tee ani Apan’.
Abhinav Grover is an Actor who is an alumnus of The Drama School, Mumbai. He works with the amateur and professional theatre groups in Mumbai, Delhi and Udupi.
These fellowships are given in the form of 12 post dated cheques cashable every month to the artist in the beginning of the year itself so that the artist is assured of monthly payment without any procedural delay. A significant feature of the fellowship is that it has no preconditions. It is given on the basis of the recipient’s contribution and level of dedication to his area of activity and the awardee has the freedom to utilize the amount as he wishes.
Sahitya Rangabhoomi Pratishthan is a trust formed by artists in 2003 to promote art and artists. The Trust aims to cater to the needs and aspirations of artists who have dedicated their creative selves to the service of their chosen art. In the last 13 years, the organization has given 57 such fellowships and with the five fellowships for 2019-2020, it will be 62 fellowships.
In addition to these felllowships the Trust has sponsored individual theatre productions, promoted theatre festivals and stepped into support expenses towards hospitalization and medical care of veteran artists in need. The Trust also has two prestigious publications to its credit– 1. The Scenes We Made. An Oral History of Experimental Theatre in Mumbai (English) edited by Shanta Gokhale. and 2. Ajoon Tendulkar. (Marathi) Critical Appreciation of Vijay Tendulkar’s Works. Edited by Rekha Inamdar Sane.
