Venue: Indian National Theatre
Town: Mumbai, IN

The Indian National Theatre (INT) is a theatre organisation and troupe founded in 1943 and based in Mumbai, India. Although performing predominantly Gujarati theatre, the troupe has also produced a number of plays in other Indian languages. In addition to theatre productions, the troupe also carries theatre education, training and research activities. In 1940, on the 50th birthday of Dhansukhlal Mehta, Chandravadan Mehta and his troupe improvised a revue performance named Ranglila. The performance featured elements from Bhattnu Bhopalu (Bhatt's Hypocrisy) by Navalram Pandya, Nawabni Mulakat (Nawab's Visit) by Ramanbhai Neelkanth, Ashok Parsi Hato (Ashok Was Parsi) by Jyotindra Dave and Narmad by Chandravadan Mehta. Such performances, although initially improvised, gradually evolved into organised theatrical activities. In 1944, the Indian National Theatre (INT) was founded in Bombay (now Mumbai), with Damubhai Jhaveri as its first General Secretary. Other members associated with the founding included Mansukh Joshi, Gautam Joshi, Naran Mistry and Chandravadan Bhatt with D. G. Vyas providing guidance. In 1942, members of socialist youth groups who supported the Quit India Movement sought to use the fledgling theatre scene as a tool for public education, resulting in arrests and imprisonment. Early performances by the theatre were of ballets or dance-dramas, such as Kalbhairav and Bhukh (Hunger), written by Avinash Vyas and directed by Yogendra Desai. The troupe used two lorries for a stage and to travel around Bombay Province. Apart from Gujarati theatre, the troupe also performed at least one Marathi play. In 1947, Shanti Bardhan directed a dance-drama of Discovery of India, based on the book of the same name by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, at which he was also present and drew his appreciation, on the occasion of the Asian Relations Conference. Other big productions during this period included Narsaiyo on Narsinh Mehta, Meera on Mirabai and Amrapali. In 1949, th