Deerghasi Vizai Bhaskar | |
---|---|
Born | 1958 (age 65–66) Ampolu, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh |
Nationality | Indian |
Other names | Vijaya Bhaskar |
Occupation(s) | former Director, Culture Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh |
Years active | 1982-present |
Known for | Theater arts, playwright |
Dr. Deerghasi Vizai Bhaskar, born in 1958 in Ampolu village, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, hails from a poor family. He began writing dramas at the age of twenty-two, with his debut play Turpu Tellanrindi, which depicted the struggles of weavers. Though he initially started his literary career writing short stories, on the advice of Kalipatnam Master, he transitioned to playwriting under the guidance of S.K. Misro, a veteran stage director. His passion for theater led him to pursue academic research in the field, culminating in a thesis on Bertolt Brecht's influence on Telugu drama. [1] [2]
Dr. D. Vizai Bhaskar imbibed a spirit of democratic struggle against social and political oppression rooted in caste, demography, and the political system. He draws his themes from the agony of human suffering prevalent in rural society. Often, he employs mythopoeic and folkloric concepts to awaken rural communities, as their cultural foundations are deeply rooted in the perceptions of the past. Bhaskar also utilizes a powerful sense of humor, with shades of satire, to inspire and provoke people towards the effective realization of their goals. He views drama and theater as powerful tools for social change.
His sense of social commitment and responsibility has earned him several awards, including six Nandi Awards at the state level for best playwriting and the prestigious Central Sangeet Natak Puraskar in 2010. Many of his plays have been translated into several Indian languages, including Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Manipuri, Malayalam, and English, and have received equal appreciation and acclaim from diverse audiences. It is no exaggeration to say that he has emerged as a powerful pan-Indian playwright of recent times.
Vizai Bhaskar's dramas were adopted by the Karnataka Nataka Akademi in 2010 to be performed on stage as part of a Kannada-Telugu theater collaboration. [3] In an interview with The Hindu, Bhaskar mentioned that his play Gandhi Jayanthi was translated into seven languages, in addition to English, and that his drama Puli Swari was staged 150 times. [4]
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