Suman Sengupta, having directed a couple of winners in recent times, comes up with another trump with Gourer Kabach produced by Samstab. A freewheeling adaptation of Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay’s novel of the same name, Gourer Kabach seems set to earn the enthusiastic approval of both young and mature viewers, much in the manner of Mukhopadhyay’s novels for the young that adult readers have thoroughly enjoyed too. Sengupta’s adaptation, though marked with many departures from the novel, accommodates the core elements of Mukhopadhyay’s fictional universe — loveable ghosts, formidable bad men (who magically transform at the end) and ordinary people with a streak of extraordinariness. Gourer Kabach lodges itself within the rich cultural tradition of incisive political fables in Bengali which has significant contributions from the likes of Tagore, Sukumar Ray, Satyajit Ray, Manoj Mitra and, of course, Mukhopadhyay himself.

The animated live singing with which the play kicks off is a bolt of energy that runs through the play, keeping it rapidly rolling. The energy level peaks in the wonderfully crafted ha-du-du match sequence, which stands out as a prolonged moment of total theatrical experience. Sengupta understands the importance of creating sharply heightened theatrical moments, and Gourer Kabach has enough such moments to keep the audience hooked. As a touching tribute to the print-text antecedent of the performance text, cut-outs of various figures used as set elements to indicate different locations had images that stylistically alluded to magazine illustrations.

Susnato Bhattacharya and Parthasarathy Chandra as benevolent ghosts are endearingly captivating in their roles — they appear airy and spectral in the look created for them by the costume designer, Ruhsati Chowdhury, who has done a fine job overall. Mayukh Dutta uses his height, augmented with special footwear, to the advantage of his character and he delivers his lines in staccato rhyming couplets with great command. Tathagata Chowdhury as Gaur expectedly excels; he expertly conveys his character’s ingenuous vulnerability and inner steel. All the other actors also perform with disciplined passion.