Rang Manch 6 - Celebrating Expressions: Playing Along (English)

Date: 15 Mar 2012

Script: Praveen Krishnan, sourced by Gargi Nanjanath

Direction: Khushboo Aggarwal

Cast: Ankur Dey Tarafdaar, Ashutosh Singh Kushwaha, Gargi Nanjanath, Saurabh Pillai, Tathagat Tripathi

Production: Ajeytaa Agarwal

Anchors: Akshay Anand, Ankur Pandit 


Chaos, Confusion, Commotion - Playing Along is an entertaining comedy with novel elements of theater. The cast largely comprised of people who were first time performers in the Rang Manch series. 

Rang Manch 6 - Celebrating Expressions: Keshav Pandit (Hindi)

Date: 15 Mar 2012

Script: Nikhil Sachan (first original non adapted work of IIM K student in the Rang Manch series)

Direction: Nikhil Sachan

Cast: Ashish Tickoo, Ashutosh Vikram, Swati Govil

Anchor: Astha Gupta


Poster Credits: Nibedita Chakma 


The story of a wise artist and his innocent friend, who makes him realize that "wisdom should lead to happiness and not cynicism". The plot is inspired by the life of a largely unknown novelist Ved Prakash Sharma. Two actors performed for the first time in Rang Manch series with this play, which was the first completely original script by a IIM K student to be performed under Rang Manch. 


Trivia: Marking the much anticipated directorial debut of Nikhil Sachan on the Rang Manch platform,this play was the first to have expletives in the script, which Swati Govil,the female lead found impossible to utter despite repeated efforts during rehearsals.In the end,the director felt sympathetic and allowed her to say 'Ghatiya' instead of 'C****ya*

Rang Manch 5: Kharaashein (Hindi)

Date: 19 Feb 2012

Script: Gulzar

Direction: Team

Cast: Anuj Gupta, Sajal Kumar, Soumya Barik, Sukesh Kumar

Production: Akshay Anand

Anchor: Ajeytaa Agarwal 

Poster Credits: Jubin Vora 


Kharashein is a play based on four short stories by Gulzar, set against the backdrop of IndoPak riots, and has seen immense success since it was first performed in 2004. The play captures the behavior and attitude of common men in the unfortunate period of riots. The classic play was performed as the final performance of PGP14 members. 

Rang Manch 4: Thirty Days in September (English)

Date: 10 Feb 2012

Script: Mahesh Dattani

Adapted by: Sajal Kumar

Direction: Akshay Anand, Sajal Kumar

Cast: Ankur Pandit, Anuj Gupta, Ashish Tickoo, Gargi Nanjanath, Khushboo Aggarwal

Production: Akshay Anand, Vidya Panicker

Anchor: Ankita Singh

30 Days in September is a dark, powerful and moving play which has seen immense commercial success and critical acclaim over the years. The play was based on the sensitive issue of child sexual abuse and was packed with powerful performances. 


Trivia: The intense emotionally draining rehearsals of this play proved to be a laugh riot when Ashish Tickoo who played the antagonist in the play turned up in an inebriated state for practice on one particular night and despite repeated requests from other cast members to take a break,forced them to rehearse with him.Unfortunately for him, he still feels that he performed better on the aforementioned night than on the performance night. 

Saarang, IIT Madras: Confessions of an Actor (English)

Date: 20 Jan 2011

Script: Arun Sethuraman (play titled See-Saw)

Direction: Khushboo Aggarwal, Sajal Kumar

Cast: Akshay Anand, Ankur Pandit, Ashish Tickoo, Astha Gupta, Khushboo Aggarwal


The play performed as a part of Rang Manch 2 was prepared with a new team for participation in the finals of IIT M Annual Cultural fest. This served as the first such experience for PGP15 members and holds importance in maintaining the culture of being a part of prestigious Intra-college fests, marking third such visit after MICA and IIM B fests.


Trivia: This half an hour play was prepared in 4 days by the cast and director.In fact, the climax of this play was re-written on the day of travelling and was practiced while travelling by the lead Ankur Pandit who himself an amateur critiqued that Khushboo Agarwal who has her own theater group was a one-dimensional actor.The result, Khushboo's powerful performance in 30 days of September.

Rang Manch 3: The Importance of Being Earnest (English)

Date: 13 Dec 2011

Script: Oscar Wilde

Adapted by: Sajal Kumar

Direction: Ajeytaa Agarwal, Sajal Kumar

Cast: Ajeytaa Agarwal, Akshay Anand, Ankur Pandit, Ashish Tickoo, Astha Gupta, Gargi Nanjanath, Khushboo Aggarwal, Sajal Kumar, Vidya Panicker

Music: Jayanth Subramaniam

Anchor: Soumya Barik


The well known classic by Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest - a trivial comedy for serious people was performed with the cast majorly comprising of first year students, while one of them being the joint-director of the play. The play also marks one of the best audience attendances ever seen in the auditorium. 


Trivia: The first time the play was acted out in its entirety without a break was when it was actually performed on stage.Khushboo Agarwal, the play's female lead was majorly cheesed off with the first time actors Ankur Pandit and Ashish Tickoo and only started acting with them in a civil manner when contrary to most of the cast's expectation, the performance was a major success.

Rang Manch 2 – Myriad musings: Confrontations (English)

Date: 16 November

Script: Vikas Sarangal, sourced by Chanchal Raj

Direction: Team

Cast: Akshay Anand, Anurag Pal, Chanchal Raj Meena, Khushboo Aggarwal, Saurabh Gupta

Music: Kshitij Kapoor

Anchor: Astha Gupta


Confrontations is a story conceptualized as a screenplay but was adapted in to a play by team theatrix. It became the first play in Rang Manch to have first year actors, as the play saw Rang Manch debut by two actors each from first and second year. The play was presented as an example of realism and depicted a story of heartbreak and a gradual transition to a normal state. 

Rang Manch 2 – Myriad Musings: Confessions of an Actor (English)

Date: 16 November

Script: Arun Sethuraman (play titled See-Saw), sourced by Ashok Prasad

Direction: Team

Cast: Anuj Gupta, Niketa Narain, Sajal Kumar, Soumya Barik, Sukesh Kumar

Music: Kshitij Kapoor

Anchor: Astha Gupta


Confessions of an Actor (name conceived by team theatrix) is a story of five actors who discuss, debate and argue about their roles and why they want or do not want to do them. The play is largely conversation driven and remained, till the end of the first season, the most abstract play performed under the Rang Manch series. The play was performed along with a play of more realist nature keeping this in mind. 

Rang Manch 1: Wo Ek Zinda Aadmi Tha (Hindi)

Date: 30 July 2011

Script: Ashok Pagal

Adapted by: Sajal Kumar

Direction: Team

Cast: Anuj Gupta, Anurag Pal, Niketa Narain, Rutvij Jadav, Sajal Kumar, Soumya Barik, Sukesh Kumar

Music: Sree Harihara Vignesh (as a prestigious alumnus of the college)

Anchor: Shruti Kabdal

The Rang Manch series, conceptualized by PGP14 theatrix, got off to a start with the play "wo ek zinda aadmi tha" which earlier was also their first theater performance. The play was just the right mix of conventional theater and modern entertainment to get things started at IIM K and creating the brand Rang Manch, with IIM K becoming the 4th campus where thi version of the play was performed. 

Unmaad, IIM Bangalore: Khamoshi (Hindi)

Date: 22 Jan 2011

Script: Sajal Kumar

Direction: Sajal Kumar

Cast: Anuj Gupta, Anurag Pal, Rutvij Jadav, Sajal Kumar, Sakshi Gupta, Shruti Kabdal, Soumya Barik, Sukesh Kumar


Khamoshi, which had been performed a week earlier as a 25 min play, saw it being developed in to a 40 minute script for the performance in the finals of IIM Bangalore cultural fest. This was second such visit for team theatrix in less than two months with the bonds of theatrix family getting ever so stronger. The play script, even after over an year of its inception, still continues to be developed and evolved, and happens to be very close to the hearts of many of the people involved with it. 

Echoes (IIM K) Guest Performance: Khamoshi (Hindi)

Date: 15 Jan 2011

Script: Sajal Kumar

Direction: Sajal Kumar

Cast: Anuj Gupta, Anurag Pal, Niketa Narain, Rutvij Jadav, Sajal Kumar, Shruti Kabdal, Soumya Barik, Sukesh Kumar

Music: Shree Harihara Vignesh 


Khamoshi became the first completely original script to be performed by team theatrix. It is the story of love, separation and reunion and further denial of the love. The play is poetic and occasionally draws inspirations from poets like Gulzar and Sahir. The play was witnessed by an eminent theater personality from Umang theater group who had high words of praise for the same. 

Sankalp, MICA: Wo Ek Zinda Aadmi Tha (Hindi)

Date: 04 Dec 2010

Script: Ashok Pagal

Adapted by: Sajal Kumar

Direction: Team

Cast: Anuj Gupta, Anurag Pal, Niketa Narain, Rutvij Jadav, Sajal Kumar, Soumya Barik, Sukesh Kumar

Music: Sree Harihara Vignesh


"wo ek zinda aadmi tha" in the current form of adaptation saw its performance in third campus (after BIT Mesra and IIT Kgp). This play also happens to be the first theater performance by team theatrix and the one which brought the people together and got the things started. The team made a journey of over 60 hours for the 40 min performance, and the culture of theater was born. The play is an interesting mix of suspense and comedy as a young man finds himself trapped in a house surrounded by few strange men.