COLORS Khidkiyaan Theatre Festival 2017 kicks off!

Highlighting Indian theatre’s magnanimity, the COLORS Khidkiyaan Theatre Festival 2017 kicked off at Mumbai’s Sathaye College at Vile Parle (East) today. Organized by Mukesh Chhabra Casting Company with Viacom18’s Hindi General Entertainment Channel COLORS and Hindi film channel Rishtey Cineplex as its partner. The festival brings together theatre professionals and the Bollywood fraternity to celebrate captivating theatrical excellence.

The COLORS Khidkiyaan Theatre Festival 2017 opened to a welcome note by actor Ragini Khanna. The evening also witnessed a musical performance, Ballimaaraan by Piyush Mishra followed by a Shraddhanjali to Late Shri Om Puri by the veteran actor’s contemporaries along with Raj Nayak (CEO – Hindi Mass Entertainment, Viacom18) and Mukesh Chhabra, and two theatre presentations of Smita Bharti’s play Jug Jug Jiyo featuring Dolly Ahluwalia, Ankita Bhargava, Meghna Malik and Amit Dolawat. The first-of-its-kind red carpet for theatre professionals witnessed the strong support of the industry with aficionados like Sidharth Malhotra, Imtiaz Ali, Naseeruddin Shah, Vikas Bahl, Nitesh Tiwari, Dia Mirza, Prachee Shah Pandya, Karuna Pandey, Suchitra Pillai and Dheeraj Dhoopar amongst other stepping out in support.

Commenting on the opening day, organizer Mukesh Chhabra said, “We are very excited that our humble little festival is growing. I’m thankful to all our partners and my team, and hope to have a successful festival this year as well. We are looking forward to welcoming our guests and getting in the mood of watching some amazing plays.”

Speaking about COLORS’ association with this festival, Raj Nayak, CEO – Hindi Mass Entertainment, Viacom18 said, “Theatre is a form of expression which has, in a major way, contributed towards the development of Indian television and its entertainment avenues by providing artists and talent across. COLORS and Rishtey Cineplex have always strived to bring the choicest content options to its viewers, and with COLORS Khidkiyaan Theatre Festival 2017 we are furthering this vision by creating a window into a parallel entertainment universe. We would like to congratulate Mukesh Chhabra and his team for developing Khidkiyaan, an endeavour bringing Indian theatre to the forefront, and hope to strengthen this association in years to come.”

The 5-day long festival, to be held between 1^st - 5^th March 2017, will witness a mix of superlative theatre productions and workshops, panel discussions moderated by Anupama Chopra and The Viral Fever’s Arunabh Kumar, a Masterclass by Casting Director and Acting Coach Mukesh Chhabra, script-reading sessions and a short film corner by Humaara Movie, and a tribute to celebrated theatre actor, Late Shri Om Puri featuring his fellow NSD alumni and other colleagues.

Registration

COLORS Khidkiyaan 2017 is open to everyone and the registration is free. But, bookings have to be made in advance to ensure a seat. One can register online via www.khidkiyaan.com and collect the passes at the venue. 

COLORS Khidkiyaan 2017’s Day-wise schedule:

For LIVE updates on the COLORS Khidkiyaan Theatre Festival 2017, follow @COLORSTV and @Khidkiyaan on Twitter | Follow the hashtag #ColorsKhidkiyaan2017