The lumpenisation of our social and cultural space is fast emerging as a theme for contemporary Bengali theatre, which is otherwise struggling to stay relevant. Sudrak’s Sikh-Kha Jatir Merudanda (picture left), staged at the Academy of Fine Arts, was a case in point.
Authored and directed by Debashis Majumdar, it presented itself as an “ashikshita natak” (uneducated play), clearly drawing our attention to the nomenclature. Loosely modelled on Bertolt Brecht’s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, this was a rags-to-riches story with a local twist. The basic framework of the play focussed on how a street-smart lottery vendor (Sanjib Sarkar) climbs up the social ladder to become a leader of the ruling party. How the leader’s former acquaintances adjust to the changing power dynamics and how an otherwise respectable section of society, including local clubs, kowtow to his idiosyncrasies, not to mention his demands for ‘cut-money’ formed the crux of Sikh-Kha Jatir Merudanda.
A few years ago, Majumdar had reflected on the siege of Visva-Bharati University by the saffron brigade in his play, Boijayantika. This time he was more direct. Satiric in intent and Molièresque in parts, Majumdar’s play hit out at the politician-thug nexus that ruffles many a bhadralok feather. Situations, like the accidental hero taking a selfie with his female admirers, however comic they might have seemed, clearly hinted at a contemporary politician based in Bhowanipore. Scenes featuring the hero fidgeting with words and ideals held high by the bhadralok lamented the fact that the ground beneath Bengali society’s feet has shifted.
Sudrak roped in veteran actors like Shyamal Chakraborty and Kamal Chatterjee to strengthen its pool of actors. Chatterjee’s sprightly act gave the otherwise verbose play some quirky moments. Chakraborty’s no-nonsense, yet delicate, portrayal of a lower-middle class senior citizen was wholesomely complemented by Indrani Maitra who played his nosey wife.
Lumpens running amok on the streets of Calcutta is not a recent phenomenon; it has a rather inglorious past. Chittaranjan Park-based Shapno Ekhon’s latest Calcutta tour resulted in a performance of Baishe Srabon O Pora Mangsher Gandho (Jogesh Mime Academy, picture right). The contrasting ideas embedded in the title were elucidated as the play progressed.
Written and directed by Shomik Ray, Baishe Srabon O Pora Mangsher Gandho brought to light some unexpected skeletons in the cupboard of the Bengali bhadralok. Old-timers often comment on how the dead body of Rabindranath Tagore, en route from his ancestral Jorasanko residence to the nearby Nimtala Ghat crematorium, was groped and mutilated by a horde of relic-seekers who did not even spare his bones.
This ghastly act formed the basis of Ray’s play where the patriarch (Arindam Ghatak) of a Calcutta-based family decides to display such a contentious bone relic before putting it under the hammer. His family members buy into this idea as they are assured of a lumpsum. A television channel promises more money to the family in lieu of exclusive rights to broadcast whatever transpires during the auction. However, the situation soon goes out of hand and the chief minister (interestingly played by a lady, Ivy Sengupta) and a bogey of useless bureaucrats arrive to get things under control. When they fail, an unscrupulous culture minister (Ray) intervenes with his thugs. Ray ends the play on an idealistic note.
This brilliant idea gets a rather amateurish treatment by the members of Shapno Ekhon. A liberal use of audio-visual material saves the day for Ray, who also shines as
an actor.
