![]() Origin of Dogri Theatre In the year 1898, Maharaja Pratap Singh called upon the "Victoria Company", Mumbai, to enact at a family ceremonial in the Green Hall of his palace in Jammu. This particular event actually inspired proscenium theatre in Dogri. In the year 1914 came up the, Sanatan Dharam Natak Samaj, its focal point of activities die Dewan Mandir at Kachi Chawni, Jammu, where a playhouse still exists. Two of the most popular names of Bollywood or Hindi cinema that have come up from this organization are; actor Om Prakash, and singer-actor K. L. Saigal. Performances of Dogri Theatre Friends Club copied the Parsi theatre in such manner as Dard de Jiga or "Bleeding Heart" and Mobabbat Ke Phul i.e. "Flowers of Love". For the coronation of Maharaja Hari Singh in 1925-6, many troupes presented command performances, ![]() Modern Dogri Theatre With the continuation of Sanatan Dharam Natak Samaj its pursuits and the Culture and Languages, Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art was established in 1958, the Dogra cultural identity re-emerged. New clusters or groups appeared besides the renewal of Friends Club in 1965. Dogri Sanastha and Dewan Mandir became the hub of activity. Economic assistance from the Academy sustained most of the groups and supported multilingual theatre festivals, still in rage. In the later part of 1970's, some of the significant plays included those by Narsingh Dev Jamwal, Madan Mohan Sharma, and Puran Singh. During the early and middle of 1980s, Dogri theatre earned acknowledgment and fame beyond Jammu and Kashmir through young artistic directors like Balwant Thakur, who heads the popular group Natrang. |