Parul University hosted a four-day festival of theatre, organized by the Faculty of Performing Arts, where recognized theatrical productions, performers, and audiences came together to explore the multiple facets of the performing arts. The Vadodara Rashtriya Natya Mahotsav, which had a big impact on the city’s cultural calendar with its first edition, returned in 2026 for its second edition, bringing the richness of Indian theatre, live performance, and powerful storytelling to the city once again.
The festival was inaugurated by the renowned actor and theatre artist Makarand Deshpande, who inaugurated four days of the power of theatre and the performing arts. Deshpande’s play “Manushya” was also one of the key productions of the festival, and the opening of the Mahotsav carried added significance for him, given his extensive work across theatre and cinema.
The first play, “Manushya,” written and directed by Makarand Deshpande, took the audience on an introspective journey of human nature, identity, and the contradictions that exist within each individual. The work, led by the character of Phadke, a thinker, examined how a clown, philosopher, and human could exist in one person, and made the stage a place for audiences to reflect on their own understanding of identity and human behaviour.
The festival continued with “Puraane Chawal – Purani Soch Nahi, Purana Tajurba,” featuring acclaimed actor Kumud Mishra and his team. The play combined humour with observations of life and experience, looking at the wisdom of age while challenging the notion that experience equals outdated thinking. The comedy, with its appealing characters and amusing situations, provided audiences with an evening of laughter and the wisdom of experience. The story weaves in themes of unspoken affection, dignity, social judgment, and the memories that remain long after a journey is complete, and offers a poignant reminder of how some relationships make their deepest impression without ever being fully spoken.
The Mahotsav also witnessed history and heroism coming to the stage with “Veer Gokula.” The powerful theatrical performance of courage, resistance, and sacrifice took audiences back to an age of conflict and the quest for freedom. Compelling performances and intense staging brought the story of a spirit that would not bow to oppression to life.
The Mahotsav concluded with “Maare Gaye Gulfaam,” featuring acclaimed actor Raghubir Yadav, which brought together emotion, relationships, longing, and the complexities of human life. The theatrical adaptation created an immersive experience through its compelling characters, expressive performances, and evocative storytelling. With its blend of emotional depth and theatricality, the play drew audiences into the world of its characters and left a lasting impression, highlighting the ability of theatre to capture the nuances of human emotions and relationships.
The second edition offered a diverse theatrical experience over four days, with productions touching upon introspection, humour, human relationships, history, and resistance for the audiences. Each performance took a different approach to storytelling, showing how theatre can entertain, stir emotion, and get audiences to see familiar ideas in a new light.
The Mahotsav also served as a major platform for students and new performers to engage with the professional theatre ecosystem and witness the art of live performance. Because theatre is dependent on the immediacy of performers, audiences, expressions, and the shared energy of a live stage, the festival created an environment where the artistic process could be experienced outside the classroom.
Speaking about the importance of creating platforms for theatre and artistic expression, Dr. Parul Patel, Vice President and Chairperson of the Admissions Committee, Parul University, said, “Theatre has a special power to unite audiences through stories that make us laugh, question, reflect, and feel. We are helping to build a culture in which the performing arts can continue to discover new audiences and new voices by creating opportunities for artists to perform and audiences to experience the immediacy of live theatre.”
The second edition of the Vadodara Rashtriya Natya Mahotsav wrapped up as a celebration of the stage in its many forms, where every performance told a different story, every character revealed a new perspective, and every curtain call was another shared moment between artists and audiences. With its continuation from last year into a second edition, the Mahotsav further strengthened its place as a platform for experiencing the richness and diversity of Indian theatre in Vadodara.
