H3-H6 PAF Dastak, introducing street play as a sub-drama in the PAF
The Performing Arts Festival, abbreviated as PAF, is the biggest inter-hostel cultural competition in the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay located at Powai in Mumbai (India). The term PAF is used to refer not only to the festival itself, but also to the individual cultural performances that constitute the festival.
Both undergraduate and graduate students at IIT Bombay participate in the preparation and organization of the festival. Typically six hostels (out of eighteen) are grouped together by random draw for each PAF. Though technically a drama, each PAF comprises contributions from several of the cultural arts including dramatics, literature, music, fine arts, debating and dance. Since 1999, the PAF has been held at the Open Air Theater (OAT) inside the Students' Activity Center (SAC), within the main campus of IIT Bombay.[1] Typically, all dialogues at PAF are delivered using voice overs and not by the actors themselves, mainly owing to the large size and structure of the OAT. This requires co-ordination between the actors and the voice actors.
Production (Prod)
A scene from Déja Vu by Hostels 1, 4, 9 and 11 on 28 March 2006
One of the major tasks of a PAF, and the most unique one, is the preparation of the sets by fellow students. It is commonly called prod or prodwork, abbreviations for productions. Prod consists of making sets using bamboo, jute rope and screens made with layers of newspaper glued together by freshmen and seniors in co-operation. Structures strong enough to hold the weight of several people are prepared. In the PAF of 2007, for instance, a two-storeyed set was made in order to give the dramatists a chance to perform at an elevated level.
Production sets require the maximum amount of man hours to put them in place. Building of production sets (usually from bamboo) starts about a month before the PAF. The teams are allowed 3 days to install the sets and perform the finishing touches in the Open Air Theater.
Theme and language
PAFs can be made in Hindi or English. Themes chosen are usually serious and have been drawn from history, science fiction, social injustice, biographies etc. The only caveat is that the scripts are expected to be original.
Grouping
Though seemingly random, the teams are formed in a way that ensures fair chance for each. The pool of hostels is split into tiers based on their overall standings in the inter hostel cultural general championships (GCs) held throughout the year. The tiers then get split and mixed with other tiers either through a draw or mutual consensus.
Major changes
2004 - Hostel 1 becomes a regular participant, having appeared only thrice in the past eleven years.
2006 - Number of PAFs brought down from five to four. The maximum team size increases to four.
2014-15 - New hostels 15 and 16 get added to the hostel pool.
2016 - The number of PAFs was brought down by one, to three in total, owing to the burden on resources and budget constraints. The teams now consist of six hostels each, the largest till date.
2020-21 - No PAFs were held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2022 - Due to a gap of 3 years, it was difficult to put up PAF as only few students in the institute had seen and experienced PAF. Hence, only one PAF was held, performed jointly by all the hostels.
2023 - Two PAFs were performed, in an attempt to slowly increase the number.
Recent PAFs
The PAF season is at IIT Bombay during the last fortnight of March and the first week of April each year, officially culminating all the extracurricular activities of IIT Bombay for that academic year. Some recent PAFs include:
T = Tie Main language used is Hindi unless stated otherwise
Year
PAF Name
Hostels
Date
Overall position
Individual awards
Description
Ref.
2023
Punaravrati
1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 13, 14, 16C, 17
Apr 2
Runner-Up
Sindhu Afsaana
2, 4, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16AB, 17, 18, Tansa
Apr 7
Winner
Script, Acting, Voice Over, Production, Music, Direction, Fine Arts, Lights, Costumes, Dance, Video, Gem of PAF
Production, Acting, Voice-overs, Lights, Video, Fine Arts, Music, Direction
2017
A Silent Song
1, 3, 4, 10, 13, 15B
Mar 21
2nd Runner-Up
Voice-overs, DanceT
Based on the hardships of the relation between a father and a daughter. Elements in the dances were highly appreciated. Fusion of four different dance forms in one was the main attraction.
Depicted the dilemmas one faces and how our opinions are essentially biased based on our perspectives. It stressed on not following the herd mentality and not having blind faith.
Rannbhoomi
2, 5, 9, 14, 15C, 16B
Mar 31
Winner
Script, Acting, Lights, Costumes, Music, Direction, DanceT, Video, Prod, Fine Arts
Won 10 out of 11 trophies; was a poignant depiction of the intertwined and vicious political scenario and the effect it has on university students. It showed the struggle for freedom of expression, religious turmoil and how far some people go to get political benefits.
2016
Daira
2, 5, 7, 13, 15C, Tansa
Mar 22
Runner-Up
Acting, Music, Direction, Dance
Specially applauded for dance and music; Depicted a girl’s dilemma over her sexuality while being pushed into a marriage; Portrayed the taboo of same sex marriage in Indian society
Revolved about the theme as how deception could be used for power. It narrated the story of a "Behroopiya" who lures an entire kingdom into believing his immaculate acting and his "Swaangs" and overthrows the king to ascend the throne.
Revolves around a court case where a writer is indicted for writing a controversial book on the political leaders of India around the independence era
Aahuti
4, 6, 13, 15C, Tansa
Mar 31
3rd Runner-Up
Prod, Costumes, Fine Arts
Portrayed the character of Chanakya, the Indian teacher, philosopher, economist, jurist and royal advisor and his role in shaping the establishment of the Maurya Empire under the reign of Chandragupta Maurya
(Hindi: सत्योऽहम, lit., I am the truth); Portrayed the conflict between the truth and self-ego.
Bombay
1, 5, 10
Mar 27
Runner-Up
ActingT, Costume, Prod, Publicity
(Hindi: बॉम्बे); About 3 characters - an actor, a journalist and a local goon - who want to make it big in their respective fields and the way they achieve their goals in the great city of Bombay
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