Atul Satya Koushik

Atul Satya Koushik is an Indian theatre director and playwright. A Chartered Accountant by profession, Atul holds a degree in law from the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.[1] He is He graduated with honors in commerce from Sri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi.

The 30-year-old has written 15 full-length plays so far including Chakravyuh which marks the comeback of Nitish Bharadwaj as Krishna, Couple Trouble starring Kashmera Shah, Draupadi Draupadi, Wo Lahore, Kahani Teri Meri with Kiran Kumar, Saudagar - An Indian adaptation of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, Bade Shahar Ke Log, Kaali Shalwar Aur Khushiya, George Orwell's popular work Animal Farm, Temporary Matter in the past few years. He has staged more than 200 shows of these plays which are absolutely different from each other in terms of content as well as treatment.

Atul belongs to the new age of playwrights who are trying to fill the vacuum of good original Hindi plays which is being felt by theatre practitioners in India for quite some time. Having an experience of over 12 years in theatre at various levels, his relation with the art form dates back to 2001. His plays ‘Chakravyuh’,‘Draupadi’ and Wo Lahore are some of his promising contributions to original play-writing in India. He has also come up with some remarkable adaptations of classic Indian and foreign literature in the form of ‘Kahani Teri Meri’, ‘Kaali Shalwar’ and ‘Animal Farm’.

His plays based on chapters from mythology with streaks of his imagination such as Draupadi [2] and Chakravyuh [3] have won accolades for its performances in various parts of India. Atul was invited by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to perform his play Chakravyuh at Rajya Sabha Auditroium for a show for the Members of Indian Parliament.

Atul's play Draupadi [4] starring Himani Shivpuri and Rakesh Bedi shows how the lives of 21st century women resonate chapters from the Panchal princess' life. Using the dramatic device of a play within a play, the director has chosen 11 female actors to enact this juxtaposition. It shows how a set of Haryanvi females take the liberty of the absence of males in their house to perform the banned play Draupadi, but end up finding a reflection of Draupadi's life in theirs. Veteran film and TV actor Rakesh Bedi has also been seen in this women-oriented production.

Atul's another popular play Wo Lahore shows the internal conflicts in an ordinary Indian family against the backdrop of the freedom struggle and social beliefs of the Partition. TV actor Avtar Gill was recently seen in a cameo in the play Wo Lahore that has been staged in over 10 cities including Lucknow, Chandigarh, Delhi and Mumbai.

Atul has recently been awarded with the Saluting The Entrepreneurs Award by Times Group for his excellence in the field of art and theatre. His organisational skill is seen in the formation of The Films and Theatre Society in 2009 encouraging young people working in different fields into its fold. The group is known for organising an impressive festival of literature, films and theatre annually in Delhi. In a short span, Atul has been able to build an audience for his shows that are invariably staged to a capacity hall.

Atul's theatre group The Films and Theatre Society (FTS) has been directing, producing and marketing commercial theatre productions in different parts of India since 2009. It has staged shows and theatre festivals in over 25 cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Shimla, Indore, Baroda, Jodhpur, Dehradoon and Agra. Its productions feature famous film, TV and theatre personalities, and all of them put together offer a wide range of themes, genres and presentation styles. FTS has also been conceptualizing, and organizing various theatre and arts festivals at large scale putting together artistes, sponsors and audience for larger-than-life arts extravaganzas.

The group has been organising its annual mega arts festival with the name of Rang for past five years.

Achievements

Received the Pioneer in Commercial Theatre Award in 2015

Received Yuva Nirdesak Puruskar for Draupadi in 2013

Invited for a special performance of his play Koobar aur Kaaki, now Kahani Teri Meri featuring Bollywood actor Kiran Kumar at Balayogi Auditorium in Parliament Premises.

Only active [5] playwright-theatre director in Delhi with a CA degree

His play Draupadi has been selected for performance at various coveted platforms such as Yuva Natya Festival (Govt of Delhi – 2013), International Trade Fair-2014, Bhartendu Natya Utsav ( Govt of Delhi-2013), Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (Mumbai-2014)

References

  1. ↑ "Chartered Accountant by Profession". CA Club India. Nikita Jain. Retrieved October 2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  2. ↑ "A play on Draupadis of the 21st century - The Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
  3. ↑ "Entrapped". The Hindu. 2014-07-31. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
  4. ↑ "draupadi play directed by atul satya kaushik: किताबों की दुनिया: आज तक". aajtak.intoday.in (in Hindi). Retrieved 2015-12-02.
  5. ↑ playwright


  1. ↑ "A wrong carried through ages". The Hindu. 2013-11-15. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
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