Holagundi Honoured As Best Theatre Director
Nishumbita followed in 1994 after he found like‑minded people around the university. He says Nishumbita means “victorious”, but the group’s purpose lay in social awareness.
HYDERABAD: Some of Dr Rammohan Holagundi’s earliest performances began after a three‑ or four‑kilometre walk because the group had no money for transport. Thirty‑seven years later, Suravaram Pratapa Reddy Telugu University presented him the Dr P. V. Ramana Memorial Award 2026 and conferred the title of Best Theatre Director on Tuesday. The ceremony took place at Dr Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Kalamandiram in Nampally.
“It is as if the city has accepted me as its own. Today I feel like my contribution as an artist here has finally been recognised. Today I feel like a pakka Hyderabadi,” he said.
Dr Holagundi dates his start to 1989, when he joined an English theatre group in Hyderabad. He later completed a PG Diploma in Acting from the University of Hyderabad and a Master’s in Performing Arts, before beginning work towards a PhD. “Theatre teaches you to face challenges, to take up challenges and to come out of challenges,” he said.
Nishumbita followed in 1994 after he found like‑minded people around the university. He says Nishumbita means “victorious”, but the group’s purpose lay in social awareness. “We started with the sole motto of encouraging people and bringing awareness among society through theatre.” He counts around 275 people who move in and out of Nishumbita and about 40 regular members. The group stages 23 to 24 performances a year, 10 to 12 of them in Telugu. Some members finish night shifts and still turn up for morning rehearsals.
His work has ranged from street plays and awareness performances to physical theatre. He points to a September 2024 production of Natyashastra as one of the works closest to him, but children’s theatre occupies much of his attention now.
“I don’t treat myself as a sir and they don’t treat me as their sir. We are like friends,” he said of the children he works with. Some tell him about problems they hesitate to discuss with their parents. He says he asks for their consent before turning some of those conversations into scripts. Academic pressure is one recurring subject, especially the expectation that a child must score above 90 even when the child prefers cricket, music, dance or performance.
Dr Holagundi described Nishumbita’s recent second International Children’s Theatre Festival as difficult to manage because a small team had to handle the work. “Still we could pull it off because the team coordination was so good,” he said.
His latest production, Shikandi, preceded the award ceremony. He described the 30‑minute work as a multi‑character mono act in a physical‑theatre format. The piece moves through Amba, Draupadi, Kunti and Gandhari and looks at the Mahabharata through their perspectives. The award has not altered the way he talks about the work ahead. “Someone once called me an eccentric director. They were right. I’m crazy about theatre. I love this art form. It’s in my blood now,” Dr Holagundi said. “I am definitely going to do this all through, no matter the challenges.”
