Developing theatre one of the top priorities of government, says Minister Ambati

Theatre artistes from poor & middle class backgrounds receive appreciation, not money, at the 22nd Nandi Theatre Awards Ceremony.

Receiving appreciation from the audience matters much more than money to theatre artistes, who come mostly from the poor and middle class backgrounds, said Water Resources Minister Ambati Rambabu on Friday.

Speaking at the 22nd Nandi Theatre Awards Ceremony organised at Sri Venkateswara Vignana Mandiram in Guntur, Mr. Rambabu said developing theatre is one of the top priorities of the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government and that it is reflected in the appointment of Posani Krishna Murali to the post of chairman of Andhra Pradesh State Film, TV and Theatre Development Corporation (APSFTVTDC).

Mr. Posani Krishna Murali said 115 applications were received for the theatre awards, the selection process for which happened in a transparent way. Out of them, 38 plays were selected. These plays were performed during the seven-day Natakotsavalu. Around 1,200 artistes who came to town to perform the play were given accommodation and other facilties, he said.

The NTR Rangasthalam Award was given to M. Rama Linga Swamy of Visakhapatnam. He was also presented with a memento and ₹1,50,000 cash.

Dr. YSR Award was given to the representatives of Young Men’s Happy Club of Kakinada. They received ₹5,00,00 cash.

Senior theatre artiste K.S.K. Sai was also felicitated on the occasion.

In the ‘Padya Natakam’ category, the play Madhava Varma received gold, Srikantha Krishnamacharya received silver and ‘Vasantha Rajiyam’ received bronze.