Name of Nagpur’s Priyanka Shakti Thakur, known for taking a different and unique path while presenting a drama, has figured in the list of most prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi awards. Her name has been declared for ‘Ustaad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2023’. Prof Thakur, who is Head of the Department of BVoC (Acting and Theatre Stagecraft) at VMV College, has been in the field of performing arts since she was 14. Prof Thakur began her theatrical journey from Bhopal. She not only played roles as an actress but also directed and produced several plays.

The General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, New Delhi, unanimously elected six eminent personalities from the field of performing arts as Akademi Fellows (Akademi Ratna). The fellowship of the Akademi is the most prestigious and rare honour, which is restricted to 40 personalities at any given time.

 

The General Council also selected 92 artists from the field of Music, Dance, Theatre, Traditional/ Folk/ Tribal Music/Dance/ Theatre, Puppetry and Overall contribution/scholarship in the performing arts for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) for the years 2022 and 2023. Prof Thakur was chosen in the category of Traditional Theatre. She is the only candidate from Maharashtra to be selected under this category. “I always tried to do something different that most people won’t do. I chose characters like Rashtrapurush Atalji, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, Jhalkaribai, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Tantya Bhilla, Birsa Munda and directed the dramas related to these great leaders and also acted in those,” said Prof Priyanka Shakti Thakur.