JOIN USThe MSRIT Theatre Society recently hosted the fifth edition of its annual theatre and short-film fest, ‘Shoutout 5.0’, which saw a large bunch of students donning the role of both participants and audiences. From its conception, ‘Shoutout’ has aimed at unearthing young talent and nurturing and beckoning them to explore the depths of theatre — and that is exactly what they did during the two-day fest.
The first day saw an auditorium full of young film-makers and their slowly growing fan base. A selection of 15 shortlisted films by the college students was screened, discussed by the judges and applauded — regardless of whether it won or not. “It was a good response. Compared to last year, the films presented have really improved in quality. What I especially appreciate is the fact that the judges are calling the directors on to the stage, giving feedback and guiding us for the future,” says Agnishwar Som, who
directed a short film called ‘The Inside’.
“I don’t believe in competitions because I feel that everyone’s thought process is relative. But fests like this give a platform to showcase one’s film-making skills. It’s not always possible to gauge a director’s vision. But as long as you get everyone to shut up and watch your film, it works,” he adds.Even the impartial audience members willingly sat through the screenings, hooting and cheering on their fellow students’ efforts. “I didn’t expect these kinds of films. The movies which were made last year were quite hopeless. This is bigger and better and a lot of different themes have been explored,” notes Padmaraj, a student.
On the second day — the theatre extravaganza — a lot of promising talent from within the college came on display. The event was judged by three esteemed personalities from the field of theatre and saw an audience of over 500 students witnessing a total of 11 one-act plays and 9 skits.The event was a great success and the entire organising team, headed by Vignesh Subramanyam and Manoj Kumar Kalaivanan, were delighted to see their ideas come alive.
The UV theme, a new addition to the fest, added colour to the event. Surendar K S, an audience member says, “I have seen four editions of the fest and I have to admit, this was the best by far!”The cultural convener of the college, Sanjay H S, chimes in, adding, “In the hectic schedule of an engineering student, ‘Shoutout’ was a great stress buster — not only for the students who participated, but also for the people who witnessed it.”