Prospectus 2012 - National School of Drama

Faculty Faculty
the 1950s, stands transformed with his introduction of
a self-supporting hoisting-system and an innovative
loop counter-weights. The recently commissioned Bhaji
Gursharan Auditorium, Banur, is another of his landmarks,
where a 90-ft diameter semicircular Braille curtain works
to perfection. Prof. Bhagat was the technical director to
‘Festivals of India’ held in Japan, Germany, China, Thailand,
Russia, Kyrgystan, Kazakhstan, Korea and Brazil. He has also
worked as an art director for films like Bandit Queen and
Hazaron Khwahishen Aisi.
SURESH BHARDWAJ
Professor, Lighting
An NSD alumnus, Prof. Suresh Bhardwaj joined the
School’s newly founded Extension Department on a
one-year fellowship in 1980. Former technical director
of Rangmandal, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal and a foundermember
of Sambhav, a theatre group of Delhi, he moved to
television and cinema in 1985. He joined the NSD faculty in
1988, and has been Professor of the Extension Programme.
He has worked as a writer, director and designer for satellite
channels and Doordarshan; conducted numerous theatre
workshops in and outside the country; and designed and
directed plays for several institutions in different languages.
Prof. Bhardwaj has also served on the International Jury
of World Drama under UNESCO. He is a recipient of the
Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the Rosco (UK)
Award from the Chaman Lal Society.
AMARJIT SHARMA
Associate Professor, Stage Technology
A Delhi University graduate, Amarjit Sharma joined NSD’s
carpentry workshop section in 1979 and was appointed
stage technologist in 1994. He is responsible for preparing
set designs, plans and models for staging plays and other
associated events. Among his notable assignments are
the installation and execution of sets for the Bharat Rang
Mahotsav from 1999 onwards, for Jashnebachpan from
1998 onwards, and for the German Festival in India in
2000–01. He has visited Germany and Sri Lanka on official
assignments for set execution and has designed sets for
many television serials. Mr Sharma attended a programme
on advanced theatre technology in Tokyo as part of the
Indo-Japan Cultural Exchange Programme, in 1998.
visiting faculty
The School also invites some of the finest creative
talents from within the country and abroad to serve on
its visiting faculty, periodically. Creative people from
different linguistic and cultural backgrounds who are
actively involved in the practice of theatre, and who face
the challenges that this medium poses in the changing
cultural context, have been visiting the School to
supplement the teaching inputs of the resident faculty.
repertory company
SURESH SHARMA
Chief of Repertory Company
With diplomas and specialisations in acting from both
the Bhartendu Natya Academy and NSD, Suresh Sharma
began work as a freelance theatre worker with the Delhibased
group, Sambhav. In 1985–86 he worked under
a fellowship on the Nautanki of Uttar Pradesh under
the guidance of Gulab Bai and Mudraraksha. He later
established the only non-governmental repertory in the
district of Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, which he went on
to expand into a fully residential theatre academy. He
has been the artistic director of the Shri Ram Centre for
Performing Arts in Delhi; has translated the first version
of the Stanislavsky system of acting into Hindi; and has
visited several foreign countries to study the functioning
of repertory companies. For the play Mohana, he was
awarded by the Sahitya Kala Parishad and the Sangeet
Natak Akademi.
children’s theatre
PANKAJ SAXENA
Coordinator, Children’s Theatre
An NSD graduate, Pankaj Saxena’s areas of interest include
theatre music, playwriting and theatre history. He has
worked on assignments with leading organisations such as
Sangeet Natak Akademi, Sahitya Kala Parishad and Bharat
Bhavan; and has directed and organized many productionoriented
workshops for children. He has also been
coordinator of NSD’s Regional Research Centre, Bengaluru,
and is currently supervising children’s theatre in the NSD
Extension Programme.
production cell
PARAG SARMAH
Production Manager
A graduate of the National School of Drama with
specialisation in acting, Parag Sarmah has worked in the
NSD Repertory Company for nearly twelve years as an
artiste and stage manager. He has acted in more than
forty-five plays. His directorial debut, Parashuram, has been
nationally acclaimed, and was a part of both the Nandikar
National Theatre Festival and the Bharat Rang Mahotsav.
He has directed Hello Out There for the NSD Repertory
Company, and has designed lights for productions like
Raste, Parinati, Bhand Duhayee, Taj Mahal Ka Tender, Bandi
Pramath and Shatrupa, a sound and light production by the
Song & Drama Division. Mr Sarmah has been instrumental
in the successful coordination of the Poorvottar Natya
Samaroh that has been organised by the School in different
parts of the country for the last five years.
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