In 2010, the META Lifetime Achievement Award was instituted to acknowledge the dedication, energy, and hard work that leading theatre-practitioners in India have put into the field. Their unstinted efforts have contributed significantly to the growth and development of theatre as an art form. Over the years, the META Lifetime Achievement Award has become a prestigious accolade to reward a vast body of theatrical work. Past awardees have included: the late Badal Sircar (2010), the late Zohra Sehgal (2011), the late Khaled Chaudhury (2012), Ebrahim Alkazi (2013), the late Girish Karnad (2014), the late Heisnam Kanhailal (2015), Ratan Thiyam (2016), Arun Kakade (2017), Vijaya Mehta (2018), Mahesh Elkunchwar (2019), Barry John (2020), and Sushma Seth (2023).
The Nature of Silence: The Art of Successful Direction by Barry John
Amitabh Srivastava
An alumnus of the National School of Drama, Amitabh Srivastava has been acting on stage since 1971 in plays directed by eminent theatre personalities such as E. Alkazi, B.V. Karanth, Satyavrat Sinha, Fritz Benewitz, Barry John, Ranjit Kapoor, Devendra Raj Ankur, M.K. Raina, Prasanna, Amal Allana. He has acted in more than 100 plays. Founder Member of Delhi’s prestigious theatre group Sambhav, he was nominated in the Best Actor category in Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards, 2007. Besides theatre, have also acted in many films and TV serials under the direction of reputed directors like Basu Chatterjee, Richard Attenborough, Govind Nihlani, Dev Benegal and Priyadarshan. The disciplines of writing & scripting have always been his forte and he has adapted major world classics of drama like The Fool, The Tempest, Good Woman of Setzuan, The Visit, Hedda Gabler, The Odd Couple and many others. He is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Acting in 2011.
Anurupa Roy
Anurupa Roy is a puppeteer, puppet theatre director and puppet designer. She is the founder and managing trustee of The Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust, Delhi. She has a diploma in puppet theatre from the University of Stockholm and has been trained in traditional glove puppetry from the School of Traditional Glove Puppetry in Naples. She has been a guest faculty at the World Arts and Cultures at UCLA. A recipient of the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar – a National Award for contribution to puppet theatre by the Government of India - she is currently one of the Trustees of UNIMA puppeteers Trust India, the Indian chapter of the Union Internationale de la Marionette.
Anirban Ghosh
Anirban Ghosh is an arts entrepreneur, musician, composer, and avid adventure lover. He has more than 15 years of experience as a professional musician, performing and recording worldwide with artists such as Bernie Marsden, Murad Ali Khan, Susmit Sen, Kamal Sabri, Rabbi Shergill, Derek Beckvold, among others. He is a recipient of the ARThink South Asia Fellowship, RSA Fellowship (UK), British Council’s Young Creative Entrepreneur award, Goethe Institut’s SAMUR Fellowship, and the Gates Foundation’s Fellowship in Leadership & Innovation.
Deepan Sivaraman
Deepan Sivaraman is a distinguished theatre director, scenographer, and Dean at Ambedkar University, Delhi. He’s designed/directed over 60 performances globally, earning accolades including the Kerala Sangeet Nataka Akademi Award and Mahindra Excellence National Theatre Award. He is the founder/ Artistic Director of the Kerala-based Oxygen Theatre Company.
Sanjoy K. Roy
Sanjoy K. Roy, an entrepreneur of the arts, is Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, which produces over 33 festivals in 42 cities and 17 countries, including the world’s largest literary gathering — the Jaipur Literature Festival and international editions of JLF. He is a founder-trustee of Salaam Baalak Trust, working to provide support services for street and working children in the inner city of Delhi where over 1,30,000 children have benefited from education, training and residential services. Roy is the Co-chair of the Art and Culture Committee of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and former President of Event and Entertainment Management Association. He lectures at and works in collaboration with leading universities across the world and has been conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of the University honoris causa by University of York, UK, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the arts and society.
Sushma Seth
Sushma Seth is a versatile actress known for her work on stage, in television and films. She is also a children’s theatre activist, founder member of ‘Yatrik’, and a Founders Scholar from Carnegie Mellon University, U.S.A. Throughout her career, which began in 1960, she has played lead roles in 80 plays in Hindi, Urdu, and English. Seth has acted in over 100 films and television series, including ‘Humlog’ and ‘Dekh Bhai Dekh’. She established Children’s Creative Theatre in 1973 and initiated children’s drama workshops at the National School of Drama. As an author, she wrote ‘Stageplay’ and translated 'Rangmanchan' into Hindi, which was published by the National School of Drama. Seth has directed over 40 plays and has been on the faculty of several institutions. She is currently the Honorary Cultural Director of NGO Arpana, where she has conducted many production-oriented workshops from 1998-2020. Seth has been felicitated and honoured with several awards, including the Rashtriya Priyadarshini Award, Bharat Nirman Award, Sahitya Kala Parishad Best Actress award, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, and National Vayoshrestha Award, among others.
A riveting tale of caste, gender, class, conflict and politics, 'Agarbatti' is based on the Behmai massacre committed by Bandit Queen Phoolan Devi and her gang to avenge her gangrape by the upper-caste Thakur men of Behmai. In order to rehabilitate the widows of the massacred Thakurs, the government opens an incense stick factory in the village. One of the widows, Lala Ram Thakurain, reserves the last rites of her husband until Phoolan Devi has been executed. The story begins after Phoolan’s death and explores its implications and consequences on a series and spectrum of events.
The META 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award will be conferred upon Ram Gopal Bajaj, renowned actor, director, former Director of the National School of Drama, and recipient of the Padma Shri.
Ram Gopal Bajaj
Ram Gopal Bajaj graduated from the National School of Drama with specialisation in acting. As alumnus of NSD, he has been associated with the institute as an Artist and Teaching Faculty member. He was also the Director of NSD from November 1995 to September 2000 and Professor and Head of the Department of Dramatic Arts, Punjabi University, Patiala. His performances in Suno Janmejaya, Hayavadana, Begum Ka Takiya, Ghasiram Kotwal, Andha Yug, Tughlaq and King Lear were highly acclaimed. Later, he established himself as a director with productions like Ajaat Ghar, Paap aur Prakash, Andha Yug, Ashad Ka Ek Din, Surya Ki Antim Kiran Se Surya Ki Pehli Kiran Tak, among others. Bajaj has to his credit the conception and organisation of the first ever Bharat Rang Mahotsav (International Theatre Festival by NSD in 1999). He also started a National Theatre Festival for Children, known as Jashn-e-bachpan and Bal Sangam held in 1998 and 2000 respectively. Bajaj was awarded the Padma Shri by the President of India in 2003 for his immense contribution to theatre. In 2017, he received the Hindi Akademi Natak Samman for his contribution to Hindi language and literature, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1996) for his contribution to theatre. He has also received the Best Actor Award for his lead role in the feature film Mango Dreams at the Dada Saheb Phalke film festival, Delhi in 2017.
