Draft:Omendra Kumar Verma


Dr.
Omendra Kumar Verma
Kumar in March 2020
Born (1962-12-29) December 29, 1962 (age 61)
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
Occupation(s)Theatre Activist, Script Writer, Actor
Known forTheatre Activist
Notable workTumhari Amrita, Girija K Sapne, Ek aur Dronacharya, Jaanch Padtal, Purush

Omendra Kumar Verma is an Indian actor, script writer, and theatre activist.[1]

Early life and family

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Kumar was brought up in a middle-class family. His father, Anand Swarup Verma, was an Ayurveda Acharya. His mother, Shanti Devi, died a week after Verma’s marriage. He has two older brothers and one sister. His elder brother also had some interest in Theatre. In 1994, Verma married Nisha Verma. She helped him a lot and supported him a lot in his Theatre career. She still handles the work of Anukriti Rangmandal.[2][3] He has three children. His daughter, Disha Verma, works with Lalit Kala Akademi.[citation needed]

Started Theatrical journey[4] with the foundation of a cultural group namely 'Playgroup' Kanpur in the 80s and staged play 'Ardhangini' with its writing & direction. With the intention of the revival of theatrical activities, Kumar reconstituted the IPTA Kanpur unit in 1982 which was lying almost dead. During the struggle period, he came into contact with legends like Kaifi Azmi, Rajendra Raghuvanshi, Jitendra Raghuvanshi, Dr. Mulkaraj Anand, Harbanas Singh, Dr. Hemlata Swarup, Prof. Ram Nath Mishra, Purushottam Kapoor, Lalit Mohan Awasthi, Veprakash Kapoor, Govind Vidyarthi, which changed the direction of his life. He directed several plays including Kamla, Madhavi, Ladai, Kisi ek phool ka naam lo, Tilottama, Saiya Bhaye Kotwal, Akaal, Ek Tha Gadha alongside Numbers of Theatre l festivals and so many theatre workshop organized in association with IPTA till 1988.[citation needed]

Education

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He has completed Post Graduation in sociology Shri Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University Kanpur. Kumar also studied Post graduate diploma in Journalism from IGNOU New Delhi.[citation needed]

Career

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In 1984, with the aim of bringing parallel cinema to the masses through the Film Society movement, he established Indian forum of progressive films at Kanpur center under the patronage of famous filmmaker/director Journalist Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. Women's Film Festival (1987 Kanpur/1990 Dehradun), Screening of Shyam Benegal's films in 1995 & several seminars and discussions were prominent activities of the forum.[citation needed]

He conducted a Directional Workshop in March 1991, Organized a workshop with renowned theater artist Brij Mohan Shah, Director National School of Drama,[citation needed]

Sponsored by Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi, Lucknow.[5] Kumar conducted a Film Appreciation Workshop from 24 to 31 July 2010 Kanpur University/Kanpur University Organizer: Film and Television Institute of India, National Film Archives, Pune).[citation needed]

 

With the establishment of a new theatre company ' Anukriti'[6] in August 1988, an Inaugural play based on Uttar Pradesh folk style 'Baje Dhindora' urf 'Khoon ka Rang' was staged at Kanpur & Nainital.[citation needed]

Journalism

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From 1980 to 2011, Kumar was independent columnist in Dharmyug, Madhuri, Inadu, Navbharat Times[7][8], Sandhya Samachar, Swatantra Bharat, Rashtriya Sahara, Amar Ujala India Today, Vanita, Natrang, Chhayanat and Dainik Jagran, of various subjects of art, culture, cinema & TV. From 1997 to 2011 he worked as regular journalist in Dainik Jagran, Kanpur.[4][9]

Acting

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In 2011, 'Anukriti' Kanpur was granted status of Repertoire (Rangmandal) by the Indian Ministry of Culture. This was the first establishment of any Repertoire in Kanpur.[citation needed]

Notable theatrical performances

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On 12 September 1992 famous play 'Tumhari Amrita’ was staged in Kanpur performed by legend theatre artist Shabana Azmi and Farooq Sheikh. With the coordination of Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi, State Academies/Cultural Departments/Regional Cultural Centers/Several Cultural Organizations, more than 50 plays named as Ramleela, Bakri, Moteram ka Satyagrah[10] (all three are based on folk based nautanki style) Ek aur Dronacharya, Poster, Mukhya Mantri, Ranganath ki Wapsi, Girija ke Sapne, Toota Aaina, Pati patni aur..[11] Taj Mahal ka tendor, Purush[12][13], Jaanch-Padtaal[14], Praja hi Rahne do, Dus din ka Anshan, Sambodhan, Gagan Damama Bajyo were performed in more than 200 successful stage shows[15] over 100 cities including Lucknow, Saharanpur], Bareilly, Allahabad, Chandigarh, Katra Jammu[16], Ujjain, Delhi, Jaipur, Raipur, Udaipur, Alwar, Mumbai, Gwalior[17], Bhubaneswar, Shimla, Kullu, Nainital[18], Dehradun, Ranchi, Banaras, Guwahati, Kolkata, Vardhman, Jalandhar, Patiala[19], Kurukshetra, Patna, Munger. Organised 7 National Level Festivals at Kanpur Centre. Dr. Omendra has also organized a National Drama Festival[20] 8-13th March 2019 in Kanpur.The festival became famous by the name of ‘A festival for Holi’ in the newspapers and journals.[citation needed]

TV serials and film

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Played many characters in Popular TV shows/Serial i.e., Crime Patrol, Savdhaan India, short/feature films (A Daughters Dream, Ghalib, Family of Thakurganj, Bamfad, Acid).[citation needed]

Training And Workshops

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Conducted theatrical workshops in educational institutions of national level including[21] Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, IIT Kanpur, Navodaya Vidyalaya, IIT Kanpur, Sir Padampat Singhania Education Centre.[citation needed]

Production and direction

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Neer, Safai me hi hai Samajhdari and production & Direction of many other short films.[citation needed]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ "A virtual theatre festival for Kanpurites". The Times of India. 2020-10-02. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  2. ^ Singh, Kp (2018-04-04). "संसाधनों के अभाव में भी निरंतर आगे बढ़ रहा हिन्दी रंगमंच". jalaun times. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  3. ^ "Anukriti Rangmandal - Theatre". Anukriti Rangmandal. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  4. ^ a b "No place for plays in Kanpur: City theatre artists". The Times of India. 2017-06-03. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  5. ^ "Play Gagan Damama Bajyo makes Kanpurites emotional". The Times of India. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  6. ^ "In search of happiness!". epaper.hindustantimes.com/. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  7. ^ "अंग्रेजी हुकूमत के समय की नौकरशाही को दिखाया". Navbharat Times (in Hindi). Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  8. ^ "An open mic organised in Kanpur | Entertainment - Times of India Videos". The Times of India. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  9. ^ "Play Purush staged in Kanpur | Entertainment - Times of India Videos". The Times of India. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  10. ^ "अंग्रेजी हुकूमत के समय की नौकरशाही को दिखाया". Navbharat Times (in Hindi). Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  11. ^ "घर तोड़ने की होड़ और कलह का बीज बोने का मंचन -". Nai Dunia (in Hindi). 2015-09-13. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  12. ^ Patiala, Royal (14 December 2019). "Purush-play on ugly face of inebriated politician staged at theatre festival". Royal Patiala.
  13. ^ "सदमे से हो जाती माँ की मौत". Swadesh. p. 2.
  14. ^ "जाँच पड़ताल". naatak -. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  15. ^ "Telegraph india epaper Calcutta 10 Jan 2024 | Page 1". epaper.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  16. ^ "Rajouri News: नाटक आतंकवादी की प्रेमिका में दर्शाई मोहब्बत से नफरत तक की दास्तान". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  17. ^ Bhaskar, Dainik. "नाट्य समारोह में चार नाटकों का होगा मंचन". Dainik Bhaskar.
  18. ^ "फिल्म एवं नाट्य महोत्सव में नुक्कड़ नाटक (Natak) 'नशा नहीं-कभी नहीं' एवं ये आदमी (लाटा) फिल्म का प्रदर्शन — नवीन समाचार : समाचार नवीन दृष्टिकोण से". 2024-01-04. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  19. ^ Patiala, Royal (2019-12-14). "Purush-play on ugly face of inebriated politician staged at theatre festival". Royal Patiala. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  20. ^ "A theatre festival for Holi in Kanpur". The Times of India. 2019-03-08. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
  21. ^ "Jammu Links News". www.jammulinksnews.com. Retrieved 2024-01-10.