Naseeruddin Shah returned to Calcutta on the eve of Muharram with Old World, the latest presentation by Motley. Given his decades of experience in exploring the subtle textures of the Stanislavski school of acting, this Aleksei Arbuzov play, translated into English by Ariadne Nicolaeff, was a perfect choice for Shah and his co-actor, Ratna Pathak Shah. Directed by Arghya Lahiri, Old World was a human document on life at an advanced age set in a sanatorium.
Old World is a journey down memory lane with an eye on the present. Some old-timers in the audience must have had fond memories of the genius of Asit Mukhopadhyay in Gandhar’s 1992 production of Takhan Bikel based on the same Arbuzov text adapted brilliantly by Mohit Chattopadhyay into Bengali. This Motley production does not name an Indian adaptor but smoothly repositions the setting in the misty hills of Ranikhet. With its overwhelming colonial vibes, the war memorials, the Sunday sermons at church, the slightly indulgent club parties, constant references to the National Defence Academy, and sombre memories of the Bangladesh War and the Babri Masjid demolition, Old World celebrated and commented on multi-lingual and multi-ethnic India clearly yet succinctly.
Lahiri kept the design simple. He handled the lights like an impressionist working on an evening landscape and made room for the sound designer, Kaizad Gherda, and the choreographer, Avantika Bahl, who crafted the most moving sequences in the production.
The audience at the G.D. Birla Sabhaghar on July 17 appreciated the gentle scene-endings and the subtlety of gestures, responding positively to the witty exchanges laden with eccentricity and loneliness. And the menacing mobile ringtone — often a recipe for disaster — did not impinge on the ambience that permeated the auditorium, which Naseeruddin Shah acknowledged with gratitude during the curtain call. The actors and the audience complementing each other has a magnetic ring to it. It was a perfect evening of drama.
