Shankar Shesh’s widely performed plays are “Poster”, “Ek Aur Droncharya”, “Komal Gandhar” and “Rakt Beej”. What makes his works appealing to the discerning audience is his incisive critique of our society plagued with corruption and exploitation of the oppressed. The intelligent and crisp dialogue further enriches his plays. “Rakt Beej”, which was mounted by Pratibimb Kala Darpan at LTG auditorium this past week, dissects the middle class rank opportunism to climb the ladder of high hierarchy in a society prone to deception.
Written in 1978, the novelty of “Rakt Beej” is its structure that combines two gripping stories to illustrate the malignant growth of immorality for self-aggrandizement often culminating in tragedy. The other aspect of the play is that it adopts the device of confrontation between the character and its alter ego which helps in the development of the character.
The play opens with the conversation between Sharma, a clerk in a private organization, and his wife, Sujata, a worker in a small-time firm. The husband is painfully aware of his pathetically low social status. He nurses burning desire to rise in life. He knows the weakness of his big boss, Mathur, a womanizer. Unscrupulous as he is, Sharma tries to trap his boss by using his young and beautiful wife as bait. Sandwiched between the rapacious and depraved two men, Sujata becomes an easy victim.
The second part begins with a hard working, sincere and ambitious young scientist Shantanu who struggles for name and fame. In his research papers he makes the director of his reputed research centre as co-author with the ulterior motive to get his papers published in international journals. His tactics to make the director, Dr. Goel, who was once a brilliant researcher who has now lost his earlier sheen because he compromised with worldly comforts and position, brings him rewards. After years of work, the young scientist has achieved a breakthrough in his field. He submits his thesis and the all the relevant research papers to Dr. Goel to be forwarded for the evaluation by international research body. One night the director visits Shantanu excited. He tells Shantanu that great future awaits him and that he will receive the highest honours from the international scientists-community. He tells the young scientist that on the basis of his discovery, he has been promoted superseding his seniors. The director tells the young scientist that he has been doing lots of work and experiments in the laboratory and has ignored his wife who has suffered loneliness, so he has been granted special leave for outing to celebrate. The director leaves on a celebratory note.
After having good time during his long leave with pay, the scientist comes back to join duty. He reads in the morning newspaper that Dr. Goel has been awarded highest recognition for his discovery – obviously an act of plagiarism. A shell-shocked Shantanu sees through the perfidy of the director. Unable to control his anger, he goes with a pistol to kill Dr. Goel who gets the better of him. Goel has committed suicide while he is basking in the international glory which is enhanced with his suicide elevating him to the status of a martyr.
The play is directed by Rajesh Babbar, a senior theatre artist of the Delhi stage. He and his cast are able to build up the tension in the production which enable the performers to bring to the fore the dilemmas of their characters. The subtle light design by Hari Semwal contributes to evoke the right mood, exploring psychological complexities of the characters.
Indictment of a societyBabbar's production is aptly rehearsed. An interval between the two parts would have been appropriate to re-design the scenes because both the acts take place in different milieu with different backgrounds. The director uses the same stage props in both the parts with little change in the placement. Nevertheless, the production is engaging, with severe indictment of a society in which ethical way of life has lost all meaning.
Ravi Taneja is a fine actor and director. He is cast in the roles of Mathur and Dr. Goel. His brilliant acting radiates the production. Another remarkable performance is rendered by Jyoti Pant who plays the role of wife of the clerk in the first part and the wife of the young scientist in the second part. Both the characters differ in their class characteristics and psychological traits. Jyoti truly lives both the characters. In her recent performance in Mohan Rakesh’s “Ashadh Ka Ek Din” as Mallika she had won the hearts of the audience. Rajeev Gupta as Sharma and Shantanu, Deepak Sharma as Manas and Vasundhra Bose as Gunjan and Kirti, the alter ego of Sujata and young scientist and the director, leave a mark on the audience. A Delhi University student, Vasundhra's debut was greeted by the audience.
