The inaugural edition of ‘Mridang,’ the annual cultural fest of the Indian Institute of Management-Indore (IIM-I) was kicked off in the presence of renowned theatre and film actor Piyush Mishra on Friday here.
The fest, which is an amalgamation of events from the fields of theatre, music, dance, fine arts and literature spanning over three days, will be concluded on Sunday.
An interaction with the cast and crew of the film Gulaal– director Anurag Kashyap’s critically acclaimed take on student politics in India–and a documentary screening with noted documentary film maker Anand Patwardhan, will be the highlights of the fest.
In his inaugural address, IIM-I director N. Ravichandran, stressed on the need for management students to aspire for a more complete and comprehensive personality, rather than merely operating with the straitjacketed mindset of securing a “job.”
“I have to admit that management students get trapped in a narrow mindset of just getting a well paying job once they leave the campus,” said Mr. Ravichandran. “I believe there is a need to evolve a more complete personality whereby success should be evaluated in a more holistic way and not just on the basis of where u get placed,” he said.
Renowned actor Piyush Mishra, known for his powerful performances in films like Maqbool, Gulaal, Dil Se and Maatribhoomi, struck a chord with the students by reminiscing about his student days at the National School of Drama (NSD).
“I still feel like a student and like to call myself a student of acting rather than an actor,” said Mr. Mishra. The versatile actor, who contributed to Gulaal with powerful lyrics and an unconventionally stirring soundtrack besides his acting, also interacted with the students before the screening of the film.
Model-turned-actor Jesse Randhawa was also present for the interactive session.