Hyderabad, Nov 19 (PTI): Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday called for the revival of drama, stage-plays and theatre and suggested using theatre as an agent of social change.

Also Read | Punjab Shocker: Teenager Dies By Suicide in Ludhiana; Her Uncle Booked for Abetment.

Naidu, who participated in a 'Nataka Sahityotsvam' (a drama, literary event) here, observed that stage-plays mirror the happenings in society, and stressed the need for people to patronise and promote the art form.

Referring to the historic role played by the theatre in bringing about awareness on social evils like dowry, he noted that it still has the potential to eliminate many discriminatory practices in society. He suggested that theatre could be used as an agent of social change, an official press release said.

Also Read | COVID-19 Vaccination in India: Govt Could Permit Third Dose of Coronavirus Vaccine for People with Low Immunity, Says Report.

Drama and folk artistes can play a key role in taking movements like Swachh Bharat closer to the people, he said.

He emphasised that theatre art form needs to re-invent to attract the audience, particularly the younger generation.

He recalled the prominent role played by stage- plays during the freedom struggle in bringing about political and social consciousness among people, including leaders like Mahatma Gandhi who was inspired by ‘Satya Harishchandra' in his childhood.

The Vice-President suggested that apart from government patronage, private organisations, civil society, especially private TV channels should come forward to promote theatre.

He called upon schools and colleges to provide exposure to children to various art forms and encourage them to take up these activities as part of their curriculum. "This will bring about social awareness in children and inculcate leadership qualities in them," he said. He released six volumes of a book containing popular Telugu plays titled ‘Telugu Prasiddha Natakalu' on the occasion. Naidu appreciated the initiative of Aravinda Arts and TANA Publishers for bringing out the compilation of 100 famous Telugu plays between 1880 and 2020 through the six volumes of the book.

He called for more such efforts to popularise theatre in the country.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)