MUMBAI: At a glittering ceremony at Balgandharava Rangamandir last evening, Fadas by Rangpandhari, Pune was adjudged as the winner in the musical category and Madam by Gogate Joglekar College, Ratnagiri emerged victorious in the prose category in the eighth edition of Vodafone Rangasangeet 2017.The awards were presented at the hands of Umesh Kamat; a dynamic and award winning Marathi actor and along with Subodh Bhave and Jitendra Joshi.

The winner in the musical category was presented a trophy and cash prize worth One Lakh rupees whereas the winner in the prose category was presented trophy and a cash prize worth INR 10,000 along with a host of other prizes worth Five lakh rupees.

An expert jury panel were hard pressed to choose winning artistes from a slew of impressive performances put up by the participants. Jury members included eminent Marathi Theatre, Film and Television personalities like Shrirang Godbole, Vibhawari Kulkarni, Kiran Yadnopavit.

Speaking on the occasion, Vodafone India, Business Head-Maharashtra and Goa, Ashish Chandra, said, “As a value based organization, Vodafone believes in making a meaningful contribution to society, across the geographies we operate in. We are extremely pleased to see such positive interest and response for the eighth edition of Vodafone Rangasangeet. The competition has been created, conceptualised and executed to bring back focus on Marathi theatre as a serious form of art and encourage youth to look at it as not merely entertainment form but also as a long term professional platform. This year over 100 teams participated across six centres in Maharashtra and Goa. It is quite evident from the number that the participation is increasing and so is the passion and love for theatre. We congratulate the winning teams and would like to appreciate the efforts of each participant in making Vodafone Rangasangeet 2017, such a grand success”.

Shri Prasad Purandare of Theatre Academy said, “Over the years, Vodafone Rangasangeet has received tremendous accolades from Theatre Fraternity across Maharashtra and Goa. Some of the participants in the past have moved on to achieve fame in Marathi Theatre, Film and TV industry. The main purpose behind Vodafone Rangasangeet is to encourage budding talent and motivate theatre enthusiasts, with a more reformed and challenging mode of theatre, which is musical. With the overwhelming response received over the years and continuous support from Vodafone, we intend to take this platform onto a next level.”

Vodafone Rangasangeet, organised by Vodafone, one of India’s leading telecom service provider, in association with Theatre Academy is a one-of-its-kind state level musical and prose one-act-play competition. The competition aims to provide a platform for budding talent in theatre across Maharashtra and Goa. The call for entries for the eighth edition of Vodafone Rangasangeet began in September this year followed by preliminary rounds in Nashik, Ahmednagar, Goa, Kankavli, Ratnagiri and Pune. At the close of two month long process of selection and elimination, out of more than 100 teams across the six centres, 13 teams were shortlisted, seven in musicals and six in prose as finalists in both the categories.