Jury Members

Amal Allana

Amal Allana is the director of Art Heritage, and a Trustee of the Alkazi Foundation of the Arts. As a renowned theatre director, she has directed over 60 productions, including ‘Nati Binodini’, ‘Erendira and her Heartless Grandmother’, ‘Sonata’, and ‘King Lear’, among others. She writes extensively on art and theatre and is the recipient of several national and international awards, including the Sangeet Natak Academy Award for Direction.

Arundathi Nag

Arundathi Nag is an Indian film and theatre actress. She has been involved with multilingual theatre in India for over 25 years and has done various productions in Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and English, among others. Nag has acted in various Kannada films, including ‘Andar Bahar’, ‘Nodi Swamy Navirodu Hige’, and ‘Airavata’. She is the recipient of several awards, including the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the Hindi film ‘Paa’ and the Karnataka State Film Award for best supporting actor for the film ‘Accident’.

BRUCE GUTHRIE

Bruce Guthrie is the Head of Theatre & Film for the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai. He is an award-winning theatre director, whose has directed productions all over the world. His directing credits include: SEA WALL (Add Art Festival, NCPA Mumbai); CONSTELLATIONS (NCPA, Mumbai); RENT (St James Theatre & UK tour) and many others. Guthrie is a member of The Guildford School of Acting's Advisory Board and has been Artistic Director of the National Youth Theatre of Wales. Some of the concerts and events he has helmed have been part of HRH The Prince of Wales 70th Birthday Celebration, and The Welsh Guards Centenary Celebration in 2015 for the Welsh Guards Charity.

Dr. Mohan Agashe

Mohan Agashe is an Indian actor who has worked in the Marathi and Hindi film industries. He made his debut in ‘Samna’ (1974), followed by ‘Aakrosh’ (1980), ‘Mashaal’ (1984) and ‘Rihaee’ (1988). He has also made an appearance in films like ‘Ab Tak Chappan’ (2004), ‘Jism 2’ (2012), and ‘Jolly LLB’ (2013), among others. In 2017, Agashe acted in director Lomharsh`s ‘Yeh Hai India’. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi by the Government of India in 1996.

Dr. Neelam Man Singh Chowdhry

Dr. Neelam Man Singh Chowdhry has a Masters degree in the History of Arts as well as a diploma from the National School of Drama. Alongside being the artistic director of her theatre company, she has also been teaching in the Department of Indian Theatre at Panjab University, where she served as the Chairperson. Her well-known plays include ‘Kitchen Katha’, ‘The Suit’, ‘Yerma’ and ‘The Mad Woman of Chaillot’, among others. Dr. Chowdhry is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2003) and the Padma Shri (2011).

Shernaz Patel

Shernaz Patel has been a part of the English theatre in India for the past 35 years. She has played leading roles in many milestone plays, including ‘The Mirror Crack’d. Iron’, ‘The Siddhus of Upper Juhu’, ‘Love Letters’ and ‘The Glass Menagerie’, among others. She is a partner at one of Mumbai’s leading theatre groups, Rage. Her work in Indian cinema, web series and television includes ‘Black’, ‘Guzaarish’, ‘Rockstar’, ‘Lamha’, ‘O Maria’, ‘Little Zizou’ and others. A Charles Wallace scholar, she headed the acting department at Whistling Woods International and is on the advisory board of The Drama School, Mumbai. She is also the artistic director of Aditya Birla Group’s theatre initiative – Aadyam.

Sunit Tandon

Sunit Tandon is director of the India Habitat Centre and president of the Delhi Music Society. Former DG of IIMC, CEO of LSTV and festival director of IFFI, amongst other positions, he has been a television anchor, radio broadcaster and music critic. Tandon is also a theatre actor, director and enthusiast.