Khurshid Qureshi | Onlykashmir.in
Kashmir’s oldest and most renowned theatre organization ‘Act for a Better Tomorrow’ (ACT) celebrated its Golden Jubilee celebrations with enthusiasm on completion of 50 years of theatre, art, culture and social services. The event held in Srinagar was attended by hundreds of prominent politicians, officers, artists, writers, intellectuals, students and art enthusiasts from Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing the ceremony, the organization’s chairman Mushtaq Ali Ahmed Khan said that theater will always be the soul of ‘Act’. He said that in the last 50 years, the organization has worked for the Kashmiri people instead of fame and the commitment to serve art and culture will remain for the next 50 years as well.
The ceremony was attended by many dignitaries including Zafar Iqbal Khan Minhas, Syed Basharat Bukhari, Dr. Rafi Ahmed, Syed Tajammal Islam, Syeda Humayun Qaiser, Tanveer Sadiq, Shahnawaz Bukhari, Ahsan Chishti, Suman Raina, Amit Wancho, Professor Tariq Abdullah, Rauf Trumbo, Rauf Punjabi, Roma Wani, Shabnam Ashai, Zameer Ashai, GM Wani, Shahzad Rasool, Hussain Khan, Amin Bhat, Mushtaq Bala, Mir Ijaz, Mir Sarwar, Shafiq Qureshi, Waheed Jilani, Raja Bilal, Ashiq Pirzada, Tahir Mohiuddin and Pervez Majeed.
More than two dozen plays presented in 50 years
The organization has presented more than two dozen major stage plays in the last five decades, including ‘Jheel Bala Rahe Hai’, ‘Ek Potli Armano Ki’, ‘Taqdeer Saaz’, ‘Negative’, ‘Sabarmati Ka Sant’, ‘Sanyasi’, ‘Pagal Ghoda’ and ‘Deewana Banade’. Many of these plays have won awards at the state and national levels. ‘Negative’ has been declared the first play to be performed on a floating stage in Dal Lake.
The organization has been honored with the Chinar Art Foundation Award, two Infotel Awards, the Athwas Award, and other honors over the past 20 years. Its plays have also won awards for Best Presentation, Best Direction, and Best Set Design.
ACT has taken various initiatives to promote the arts.
It has organized three Spring Theatre Festivals, five editions of the Kashmir World Film Festival and other cultural events. The organization has also celebrated World Theatre Day on March 27 for 21 consecutive years. This year, the first three-day Kashmir Theatre Conference was organized from September 11 to 13, in which 24 experts from Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Kashmir participated.
During the Golden Jubilee ceremony, senior artists, writers and founding members were honored, while a commemorative magazine and documentary film depicting the organization’s 50-year journey were also released. On this occasion, journalists associated with print, electronic and digital media were also recognized by presenting commemorative gifts.
The organization’s patron, Syed Humayun Qaiser, while presenting the future plan for 2026 to 2036, announced the establishment of ‘ACT Academy of Performing Arts’, a center for youth leadership and capacity building, and a digital archive to preserve the history of Kashmiri theater. Under the plan, a ‘50 Plays for 50 Years’ campaign will also be launched to present 50 plays in Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi. In addition, social initiatives will be taken for education, health, gender equality, environment, welfare of orphans, senior citizens and people with special needs.
At the end of the ceremony, the organization thanked the artists, patrons, supporting institutions, media and the public for their cooperation over the past 50 years.
