“Theatre isn’t a good career option,” said Satyabrata Rout’s father and so as a teenager, Satyabrata enrolled himself in a medical college. However, nothing could keep him away from his passion for the performing arts and he dropped out of MBBS in his fourth year. Now a noted theatre director and scenographer, Satyabrata has won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar 2016, to be awarded by the President of India.
“It was a surprise. People say that awards are manipulated, but this proves that they are not. The award has filled me with positive energy,” says Satyabrata, who teaches scenography at the University of Hyderabad.
Interestingly, Satyabrata’s grandfather owned a theatre company during pre-Independent India. “As a kid, I saw how artistes travel from place to place, perform and wear make-up and it always fascinated me. I was interested in dance, painting and theatre. However, my father never supported me and I joined a medical college, only to drop out in the fourth year. My parents were shocked and didn’t speak to me for 10-12 years! I pursued my Master’s at the National School of Drama after I came in contact with a few theatre artistes,” recalls Satyabrata, who went on to work with eminent theatre practitioners and scholars such as Peter Brook, John Martin, Fritz Bennewitz, Frank Hoffmann, John Barry and B.V. Karanth, among others.
Satyabrata is one of the pioneers of Visual Theatre in India, and has authored Scenography: An Indian Perspective and On the Crossroads of Theatre. He has directed a number of plays, participated in national and international theatre festivals and conducted numerous theatre workshops across the globe.
Hailing from Orissa, he had a hard time understanding Hindi. “Since I was from a rural area, people looked at me differently and I developed a complex. But as I started reflecting village life in my plays, people started appreciating my efforts and it became my strength,” he adds.
