Nandi Theatre Festival will be held in Tenali in January, says Minister

Minister for Tourism, Culture and Cinematography Kandula Durgesh, along with Andhra Pradesh Film, Television and Theatre Development Corporation Managing Director K.S. Viswanathan, addressing the media at the Secretariat on Friday. The Andhra Pradesh government will revive the Nandi Theatre Festival in Tenali in January as part of its efforts to restore the past glory of Telugu theatre and culture, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Cinematography Kandula Durgesh said on Friday.Addressing a media conference at the Secretariat along with Andhra Pradesh Film, Television and Theatre Development Corporation (FDC) Managing Director K.S. Viswanathan, Mr. Durgesh said the notification inviting entries for the festival would be issued in the next two to three days.A selection committee would be constituted in October, and the preliminary list of selected plays would be announced in December. The festival would begin on January 10 with the presentation of the prestigious Kandukuri awards, followed by a week-long staging of the selected plays and the Nandi Theatre Awards ceremony, he said.For the first time, Telugu theatre groups from other States would also be eligible to participate in the festival. The selection process would be conducted transparently through video submissions, on the lines of the National School of Drama (NSD), the Minister said.The number of Kandukuri awards had been increased from three to five, with each award carrying a cash prize of ₹1 lakh. The awards would be named after noted personalities associated with Telugu theatre, including Sthanam Narasimha Rao, Acharya Atreya, Garikapati Raja Rao and Bandaru Rama Rao.The government would also confer Kandukuri Vishishta Puraskarams on 100 individuals and organisations based on the 28-district structure. Three awards would be given from each district, besides 16 awards for special contributions. The awards would cover categories such as verse drama, social drama, writers, technical personnel and theatre groups, he said.Instead of providing ₹5 lakh each to a limited number of theatre parishads, the government had decided to provide ₹1 lakh each to a larger number of parishads so that more artistes could benefit, Mr. Durgesh said. He recalled that the Kandukuri awards had already been presented to 100 persons on April 16 last year on the occasion of Telugu Theatre Day.A single-window system had been introduced through the FDC for permissions required by the film and theatre industries, he said. The notification for the Nandi Awards for cinema and television would also be issued this week, with the award ceremonies scheduled to be completed by January.The Nandi awards would be presented in categories including verse drama, social drama, one-act plays, children’s plays, college and university plays, and the best book on theatre, he said. Published - September 18, 2026 06:46 pm IST