New Delhi: Noted theatre personality from Manipur – Heisnam Kanhailal won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 10th Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) which witnessed Malayalam play ‘Matthi’ bag a majority of awards including those for Best Production, Best Director, Best Script and Best Actor in Lead Role.
At an award function held in the capital last night, Mr Kanhailal was conferred Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian theatre. The Award carries prize money of Rs five lakh.
It was a winning moment for Kerala based director Jino Joseph as his play Matthi, which won the Best Production at META 2015, also bagged the most number of awards including Best Director and Best Script for him as well as Best Actor in a Lead Role (Male) which went to Renji Kankol.
The Best Actor in Lead Role (Female) was shared by danseuse, vocalist and actor Sanjukta Wagh for her stirring performance in Rage and Beyond: Irawati’s Gandhari and Swetha Shrinivas for portrayal of Seetha in Chitrapata.
The award for Best Actor in Supporting Role (Male) was shared by Gopal Dutt and Shubrojyoti Barat for the play ‘Kaumudi’ while the award for Best Actor in Supporting Role (Female) was bagged by Sowmya Jain for ‘Chitrapata’.
The award for Best Ensemble cast went to the play ‘Fall of a King -Burha Manuhor Babe Desh Na’ while that for Best Choreography went to Seujpriya and Gunakar Dev Goswami for ‘Dhou… The Wave’.
The Awards were hosted by Rajat Kapoor and Ira Dubey and it included memorable performances by Vidya Shah, Vocal Rasta, Aditi Mangaldas and Barmer Boys.
The META Gala Awards Night was attended by eminent personalities from the field of art and culture, corporate world and politics.
The 2015 META Jury comprises distinguished Theatre Personality Amal Allana; Theatre Writer, Editor and Critic Anjum Katyal; renowned Theatre Artist, Neelam Mansingh; Theatre, TV and Film Director and Writer Ranjeet Kapoor; and Film, Theatre and Television Actor Saurabh Shukla. (UNI)
