Guwahati city girl Kismat Bano wins Bismillah Khan award

GUWAHATI: The Sangeet Natak Akademi, the national academy of music, dance, and drama, and the apex body of performing arts in the country, in the meeting of its General Council held in the first week of November 2022 in New Delhi selected 102 (including three joint awards) artistes of India who have made a mark as young talents in their respective fields of the performing arts for the 'Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar' by clearing the backlog for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021.

The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, given to artistes below the age of 40 years, was introduced in the year 2006 with the objective of identifying and encouraging outstanding young talents in diverse fields of performing arts and giving them national recognition early in their life, so that they may work with greater commitment and dedication in their chosen fields.

It is a cause for great jubilation for the State of Assam that Guwahati girl Kismat Bano is one among the eight young artistes who have been selected for the award for the year 2020. This was announced by the Akademi in a press release issued on Friday. Kismat has been given the award for her excellence in acting in theatre, informed a press release.

In the past, Kismat was also selected for the Young Talents Artistes Award for the year 2016-2017 by the selection committee of the North East Zone Cultural Centre (NEZCC) under the Union Ministry of Culture.

Kismat Bano, who had earlier also received a scholarship from the Union Ministry of Culture, has in recent years performed in major drama festivals across the country as well as abroad. Two of her plays staged in Guwahati, 'Helen' and 'Bano', not only received appreciation from the theatre-loving crowd of the city but also critical approval from the press.

Kismat Bano, at a very young age, has already acted in over 30 plays in different languages - including Assamese and Hindi - and these plays have been staged in many major cities of the country. Some of these plays are: 'Aakaas', 'Madyhyabartini', 'Jatra', 'The Lesson', 'Komala Kuwori', 'Helen' and 'Puhor'. She has participated in different top drama events and festivals such as Bharat Rang Mahotsav, Nandikar, EZCC, Sangeet Natak Academi Festival, Prithvi, Nehru Centre, PDA festivals, Kalakshetra Chennai, Octave festival (Goa and Rajasthan) and at Qadir Ali Baig theatre festival etc.

Kismat's own theatre troupe 'Wings Theatre' (cultural group) has helped and trained many young artistes to prove their mettle in the field of theatre.

In a social media message, Kismat has thanked her parents, Sangeet Natak Akademi and the State of Assam for being partners in her ascent on the stage.

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