“Theatre movement in Maharashtra is still alive and encouraging. There are various groups working in towns like Kankavali, Chalisgaon and Kolhapur. But it is necessary to bring them together on a common platform,” said Ashutosh Potdar, programme executive of IFA. Potdar was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the promotional activities arranged for IFA at Pune.

“The basic idea is to help these scattered theatre groups to discover the language of their own theatre. For this purpose we have been creating a platform where these groups will discuss their issues with prominent theatre personalities from Pune and Mumbai. It will help them find the creative outcome of their theatre,” he said.

“IFA had conducted several meetings in this regard in last nine months and the project will be finalised shortly,” he added.

IFA started in 1993 by Abhishek Bellani, who himself is a playwright with a view to promote artists doing extra-ordinary work, which will be of immense use for the preservation of the art forms. In last 15 years, 200 artists got grants for their projects.

IFA is funded by the various organizations like Ford Foundation, the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bhoruka Public Welfare Trust. Pune-based photographer Sandesh Bhandare who recently completed his research project on ‘Tamasha’, a folk art of Maharashtra is also a recipient of this grant. “It helps artist to do his project with speed. Generally, to do such research or educational projects on art forms is a toiling job. It is difficult to speed up the process on your own unless you get a good funding support. IFA comes as a ray of hope for such projects,” said Bhandare.