Unmaad 2026
IIM Bangalore hosted Unmaad 2026, its annual cultural festival, from 27 February to 1 March, bringing together students and performers from across institutions. Themed ‘Beats of the Streets’, the festival transformed the campus into a vibrant hub for artistic expression across dance, theatre, music, literature, and visual arts.
Day 1 Highlights
The festival opened with the Treasure Hunt, a multi-stage challenge that tested participants on problem-solving, clue decoding, and teamwork across campus. Drishya, the short film competition, featured original works that explored storytelling through direction, cinematography, and editing, presenting a wide range of themes and narratives. The Junk Art competition, Beauty in the Broken, invited participants to transform discarded materials into creative visual installations, highlighting sustainability through design.
The day concluded with a poetry and comedy performance by Ranmal Jain, blending humour, storytelling, and audience engagement.
Day 2 Highlights
Day 2 featured a diverse mix of competitions and interactive experiences. The Unmaad Quiz challenged participants through elimination rounds and on-stage questioning that emphasised speed, logic, and general awareness. Aahwan, the street play competition, presented socially relevant themes through high-energy performances. Mic Drop showcased stand-up comedy, while Spotlight focused on individual acting through monologues and character portrayals.
Dance and music formed a key part of the day, with Soul n Sync featuring solo and duet dance performances across styles, and Rap-Sody highlighting original rap performances. Visual and performance arts were further explored through Haute Couture, combining fashion and storytelling, and Cosplay, where participants embodied characters through costume and performance. Literary expression found space in Shabd Saga, while Food Wars added an informal, fast-paced competitive element.
In parallel, a series of workshops covered themes such as interior design and entrepreneurship, cybersecurity, AI-driven digital marketing, agentic AI applications, branding science, healthcare technology, and HR practices, led by team Aylence.
The evening featured a live Bollywood Night performance by Gajendra Verma, marking the close of Day 2.
Day 3 Highlights
The final day featured Curtain Call, which presented scripted stage productions, and Voice of Unmaad, showcasing solo vocal performances across genres. Just A Minute (JAM) tested participants’ spontaneity through rapid-fire speaking, while Footloose and Streets Unleashed delivered high-energy group choreography and street dance battles.
Creative collaboration took shape through Group Canvas, while the Battle of Bands highlighted musical synergy among participating teams. The Pop Culture Quiz added an element of intellectual engagement, alongside the grand finale of Mr. & Ms. Unmaad, celebrating confidence, creativity, and stage presence.
Workshops continued through the day, exploring applications of AI across business, marketing, investing, healthcare, and human resources.
The festival concluded with pro-show performances by Seedhe Maut and Raman Negi, bringing Unmaad 2026 to a dynamic close.
