JOIN USIn a first, 2 theatre artistes bag Shankar Nag award
The Shankar Nag Award 2022 will be presented to two theatre personalities on November 1 at the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival.
Sharanya Ramprakash from Bengaluru and Nimmy Raphel from Puducherry will receive the award this year. They will be given a citation and a cash prize of
Rs 1 lakh each.
“Usually, we present the award to just one outstanding theatre worker. But, this year, we found two people worthy of the honour,” says Arundhati Nag, managing trustee and artistic director, Ranga Shankara.
The awardees are chosen by the trustees at Ranga Shankara. “We also take the help of previous award winners. The recipients are decided based on their contribution to the field of theatre,” she adds.
Every year, since 2014, the award has been presented to a young theatre worker below the age of 40. “Theatre isn’t an easy field. By the time one decides they want to do theatre full-time and end up creating exceptional work, they are already in their thirties. That is why we have chosen this age bracket,” she says. Some of the previous winners are Abhishek Majumdar, Anurupa Roy and Toral Shah.
“Sharanya Ramprakash has had an interesting trajectory. She moved from the popular genre of light English theatre to making something like ‘Akshaya Ambara’, which focused on the theatre politics of Yakshagana. It was a turning point of her journey. She has worked on several noteworthy projects after that,” says Arundhati.
Sharanya pursued theatre as a full-time profession in 2008. “When I was a kid, we used to move a lot because of my father’s job. I was constantly exposed to new places and languages. In between all these changes, theatre remained a constant in the school and college,” Sharanya tells Metrolife.
She is currently working on two new projects. “My work today is research-based, exploratory and collaborative. It asks direct questions,” adds the 40-year-old.
The second recipient of the award Nimmy Raphel is the managing trustee at Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Art Research in Puducherry. A trained Mohiniyattam and Kuchipudi dancer, Nimmy joined Adishakti in 2001, and trained under the founder, Veenapani Chawla.
Arundhati says, “Nimmy took over the reigns of Adishakti from Veenapani Chawla. Today, she is not only performing but also writing and directing plays. She took upon a huge responsibility but she flourished because of her hard work.”
“Ranga Shakara is home to me. Arundhati and the team of Ranga Shankara are a part of Veenapani’s generation. So how they view theatre is very different, and there is a lot to learn from them. This recognition means a lot,” says Nimmy. The 39-year-old is currently directing a new play, and will soon head out on a Maharashtra tour of ‘Bhoomi’, an Adishakti production.
Sharanya believes the award represents the hard work and dedication of the theatre industry.
“It’s a humbling experience to receive an individual award in a field that’s highly collaborative. Theatre is about community and we’re nothing without each other,” she says.
In memory
The Shankar Nag Award was introduced in 2014, in remembrance of the late Kannada actor and director, Shankar Nag. “Ranga Shankara was founded in 2004 but we introduced the award much later because we wanted it to be worthy of using his name,” says Arundhati Nag. The actor passed away in a car accident in 1990 at the age of 36. “At such a young age, he had gotten an international award, he acted in almost hundred films and directed popular films. He had also engaged in a lot of socially relevant work. We wanted to honour his memory with this award and acknowledge young theatre workers,” she adds.