MITCoE’s 'Serial Killers' culls competition in Pune

Kothrud-based MIT College of Engineering on Sunday walked away with the top honour in the 48th edition of the Purushottam Karandak, the annual intercollegiate one-act play competition.

This educational institute was among the nine colleges from the city in the two-day final round of competition that took place at Bharat Natya Mandir.

Organised by the Maharashtriya Kalopasak, the event is immensely popular among students. The competition has been a platform for amateur actors, some of whom have become outstanding actors, directors and playwrights.

The second prize went to Brihan Maharashtra Commerce College (BMCC) for its play, Patient. The third prize went to Logging out, staged by Maharashtra Mitra Mandal Commerce College (MMCC).

The best director’s award and the best acting talent award went to Shweta Pethkar of MIT College of Engineering and the prize for best experimental one-act play went to Sinhgad Academy of Engineering.

The best male actor and best female actor awards went to Aaroh Velankar of MIT College of Engineering and Mayuri Kanetkar of MMCC respectively.

The prize distribution ceremony will take place on September 21 at Bharat Natya Mandir at 5pm.

The three judges that assessed the plays over the last two days included Kiran Chitre, a cultural expert, Dhiresh Joshi and Nandu Madhav, both theatre personalities.

The MIT team was overjoyed by its success with its play Serial Killers. “It was team work and our efforts of the last three months paid off.  Our play talked about how the numbers of unwanted abortions has been increasing drastically over the years. It is a cause for concern. The issue is a sensitive one and we thought of highlighting it through our play,” said Shweta.