Manjul Bhardwaj
# Manjul Bhardwaj

Manjul Bhardwaj is an actor, director, writer, facilitator, and initiator in theatre. He is from Dahkora Village in Jhajjar District of Haryana, India. For the past 25 years, he has been based in Mumbai and dedicated himself to creating "The Theatre of Relevance." As a writer and director, he has written and directed more than 25 plays.

In 1992, Bhardwaj founded The Experimental Theatre Foundation, a pioneering theatre movement in India. He has conducted more than 300 "Theatre of Relevance" workshops for a variety of organizations, institutions and groups, in 28 states of India as well as abroad (Singapore and Germany). Brandeis University sends students for internship to understand fundamentals, principles, concepts and processes of "Theatre of Relevance".

His work has focused on issues such as child labour, people affected by HIV and AIDS , and what is known as "Sex-Selection" (the homicide of female fetus).

In 2006, he and his group were invited in "Kinder Kultur Karawane" by Buro Fur Kultur Und-Medien Projekte to Germany to perform the play "Vishwa – The World" for 41 days from 10 September to 20 October 2006. The play was performed 24 times in 13 cities of Germany (Hamburg, Ahrensburg, Berlin, Dessau, Penzberg, Biberach, Dobeln, Wiesbaden, Marburg, Chemnitz, Aschaffenburg, Freiburg and Radolfzell).

## Theatre career

Bhardwaj has written or directed the following plays:

| Sr.No. | Year | Name of The Play | Language | Subject | Play Time | First Time Presented At | First Time Presented on |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1993 | Door Se Kisi Ne Aawaj Di | Hindi | Secularism & National Integration | 30 Mins | Birla Krida Kendra, Girgaon, Mumbai | 12 February 1993 |
| 2 | 1993 | Dekha Dekhi | Hindi | Commercialization & Middle Class | 60 mins | Karnataka Sangh, Matunga, Mumbai | 17 April 1993 |
| 3 | 1994 | Mera Bachpan | Hindi | Child Labour | 40 Mins | Gautam Nagar, Charkop, Kandivali (W), Mumbai | 12 April 1994 |
| 4 | 1994 | Dwandwa | Hindi | Household Violence | 30 Mins | Tata Community Centre, Chembur, Mumbai | 31 July 1994 |
| 5 | 1998 | Napunsak | Hindi | Political & Social Satire | 50 Mins | Sydenham College, Churchgate, Mumbai | 9 March 1998 |
| 6 | 1998 | Main Aurat Hun | Hindi | Women Identity | 30 Mins | Mumbai University, Mumbai | 11 April 1998 |
| 7 | 1999 | Vidya Dadati Viniyam | Hindi | Importance of Education | 40 Mins | Karnataka Sangh, Matunga, Mumbai | 13 January 1999 |
| 8 | 2000 | B-7 | English | Globalization, Privatization, & Commercialization | 50 Mins | UNESCO Theatre, Hannover, Germany | 7 September 2000 |
| 9 | 2001 | B-7 | Hindi | Globalization, Privatization, & Commercialization | 50 Mins | Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai | 18 January 2001 |
| 10 | 2002 | Dhundh | Hindi | Child Sexual Exploitation | 50 Mins | A.V. Room, N.C.P.A. Mumbai | 21 November 2002 |
| 11 | 2003 | Red Light | Hindi | Human Trafficking | 50 Mins | Mumbai Police Gymkhana, Mumbai | 16 March 2003 |
| 12 | 2005 | Ladali | Hindi | Sex/Gender selection – Female Foeticide | 60 Mins | Tata Theatre, S.P.P.A.A. Mumbai | 9 June 2005 |
| 13 | 2006 | Vishwa – The World | English | Youth Struggles Dreams & their Idols | 70 Mins | Aufführung, "Kultur im Betrieb", Beiersdorf AG, Unnastraße 48, Hamburg, Germany | 12 September 2006 |
| 14 | 2012 | Chhed Chhad Kyun? | Hindi | Eve-teasing and Sexual Harassment | 70 Mins | Ravindra Natya Mandir, Mumbai | 28 September 2012 |
| 15 | 2013 | Garbh | Hindi | Awakening Human within Human | 80 Mins | Ravindra Natya Mandir, Mumbai | 1 March 2013 |
| 16 | 2013 | Drop by Drop :Water | Hindi | Celebrating water's life-sustaining virtue but strongly opposing its Privatization | 70 Mins | Kinder Kultur Karawane −2013, Hamburg, Germany | 31 August 2013 |
| 17 | 2015 | Anhad Naad-Unheard Sounds of Universe | Hindi | Liberation of Art & Artists from Birth | 90 Mins | Ravindra Natya Mandir – Dadar (W) Mumbai | 29 May 2015 |
| 18 | 2016 | Sangrash Shetkaryancha | Marathi | Plight of Farmers & Agricultural Crisis in India | 60 Mins | Sindhudurg, Maharashtra | May 2016 |
| 19 | 2017 | Nyay ke Bhanwar Main Bhanwari | Hindi | Women Liberation to Challenge the Authority of Patriarchy | 70 Mins | M L Bhartia Auditorium, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 3. | 17 November 2017 |

## Awards/Nominations

* UNFPA-Laadli Media Awards for Western Region for Gender Sensitivity 2006–07 – Category – 16. Theatre- Street Theatre Manjul Bhardwaj, Experimental Theatre Foundation

## Theaters / Workshops Conducted

| Dates | Location | Name of the Theater / Workshop | In Association with |
| - | - | - | - |
| 4 June 2012 15 – June 2012 | Ashirwad Bhawan, Dongargarh, Chhattisgarh | Bal Rang Karyashala – "Aao Khele Natak" | The Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) Dongargarh, Chhattisgarh |

## Corporate Trainer

Bhardwaj is also a human process facilitator and corporate trainer. He has evolved "Theatre of Relevance" based training modules in corporate and management development. He is experimenting and implementing "Theatre of Relevance" based training modules for more than a decade in reputed public and private sector companies i.e., ONGC, Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Tehri Hydro Development Corporation(THDC Ltd), Central Bank of India and Reliance Energy (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group)

His concept ‘Role of theatre of Relevance in HR’ is used as pedagogical tool to learn HR process in EMPI's Udai Pareek HR labs in EMPI Business School, Delhi. He has also intervened in understanding human processes through theatre in ISABS. He is a visiting faculty in a number of institutions, academies and organizations in India and abroad.

