Theatre is a complete art form, precisely why Kamal Arora believes that a theatre person should have no limitations. So if acting is his first love, make-up, theatre set and costume designing, lighting...are an integral part of his being. Since the age of eight, Kamal, who is the vice-chairman of the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi, has been a part of theatre. Today, the theatre family of the city honoured Kamal for his contribution to the filed of theatre and working for its promotion for the past 60 years. It’s been a long journey, and a fulfilling one at that, having been associated with Abhinet for many years and Kamal has experimented with various roles, ‘’I would have acted in more than 100 plays and I still can’t have enough of it,’’ he smiles. As for make-up, the artist feels a few lines of make-up can depict a lot, can take you back in years, provided it’s done to perfection. ‘’You have to understand the character well, to do a real job, and it’s vital to be in sync with the theme of the play when you are designing costumes and doing make-up,’’ Kamal learnt it all on the job, in as many as six decades! ‘’Having worked with people like Kumar Verma, Anjala Maharishi, Manohar Singh...has helped hone my skills, especially those needed backstage,’’ Kamal’s also experimented with television serials and feature films. Arora produced the first light and sound full-length play, Anarkali, way back in the ‘80s and agrees it was a novel concept, one that was received well too. ‘’There have been tremendous innovations and improvements in the field of lighting ever since and I keep abreast with all of them,’’ Arora says the medium of light can help express a range of moods, situations, emotions.

Besides a theatre personality Kamal is a keen educationist, having set up Tagore Niketan College in ‘61 and is now the director and chairman of the institute. Going beyond classroom teaching, Kamal gives his students a chance to come forward and display their talent and has created a platform by organising a cultural event every year at his own expense, directing, producing, funding and organising dance dramas, skits and one-act plays for them. To encourage students of the city to get involved in cultural pursuits, Kamal’s organized Utsav, a festival of dance, plays, mime, monoacting, declamation, debate...’’only if you take theatre beyond a theatre, will it grow and also, will the audience’s taste be developed,’’ Arora. The curtain never falls.

Parul