BARGARH : Theatre actor Sushil Meher has been selected to play the role of King Kansa in the 78th edition of Dhanuyatra which will be held from December 24 to January 3.
A resident of Chichinda village in Bargarh’s Bheden block, Meher was selected after a three-day audition process that concluded on Monday. The final list of artistes was announced at a meeting on Tuesday by additional district magistrate and Dhanuyatra festival committee vice-chairman Mahendra Mahapatra.
This year’s audition drew significant interest with 291 artistes applying for different roles. For the role of Kansa alone, 44 aspirants submitted their applications and 36 made it to the final round.
Meher is a seasoned theatre actor known for his portrayals of Ravana and Jarasandha at different stages. He will be donning the role of King Kansa for the first time. Expressing gratitude after his selection, Meher said, “I gave my best. The question-answer round lasted more than 10 minutes. I am thankful to all the jury members and the district administration for choosing me. This year, dialogues will be delivered in three to four languages, and it’s a tremendous opportunity for me to showcase my abilities at the Dhanuyatra.”
Apart from Meher, several other key roles were finalised for the festival. Prabhas Kumar Tripathy will play Mustika, Himanshu Sahu will portray Chanur, and Arttatran Mahapatra has been chosen as Ugrasen. Similarly, Kamaraj Bhoi will portray Narada, Manoj Sahu will enact Vasudeva, Jagannath Sahu will be Akrura, and Jagabandhu Mahaling will play Sarthaki. Hemanta Pradhan and Golap Chandra Dash have been finalised for the roles of Senapati and Mahamantri respectively.