A stone throw away from the noisy Himayat Nagar main road, a group is rehearsing its forthcoming play at Sutradhar, ironing out minor irritants and fine-tuning the dialogue delivery while Poornachandra Rao and Kishore of Surabhi theatre group note down what lighting each scene will require. The play, Raktbeej , to be staged this weekend, will be the 125th production of Rangadhara theatre group and mark the completion of their 45 years.
Actor and director Vinay Varma learnt the ropes of theatre under the watchful eyes of professor Bhaskar Shewalkar of Rangadhara, and considers it his opportunity to give back to the theatre group. Shewalkar, Vinay Varma and the core members of Rangadhara considered a handful of plays for the 125th production before choosing Raktbeej , the 1978 play written by late Shankar Shesh.
Raktbeej brings together two stories that discuss opportunism. “The crux of the stories is relevant today, where everybody is using everybody. The play is practical and shows how people try to use others for their gains and in turn, get used,” says Vinay. The team is abiding by the original play, barring an occasional reference to social media. “An opportunistic person will aggressively use social media today. So you have a line like ‘uski muh hai ki Facebook status update’,” adds Vinay.
The play introduces us to a middle class couple that’s struggling to rise up the ladder and what the man stakes to achieve his goal. The second story is of a scientist who longs for his share of the spotlight and ploys, in what he thinks is a clever manner, to make use of his senior. Fate has a surprise in store for him. In this story too, we see relationships at play. A wife has sacrificed motherhood for 11 years putting the husband’s progress above all. When the couple finally decides to have a child, things turn topsy turvy.
With an intense and complex play at hand, Vinay preferred to stay behind the scenes and was content taking up a small character. Eventually, he says, he had to step into the shoes of the main actor as one after another, three actors failed to measure up to the requirements of the play. “There were several issues. One actor wasn’t able to raise the bar higher; there were punctuality issues with another; the third had other commitments; so I had to step in,” says Vinay.
Poonam Chandna Golechha essays the pivotal part of the wife and if rehearsals are a marker of things to come, is a promising face to watch out for. Shirish Ghosal pitches in as the senior scientist and the rest of the crew, diligently ensure that things move in clockwork precision. Vardhman Golechha and Rita Ghosh do their bit, photographing moments from the rehearsals. As the team goes about making minute changes in the setting for each sequence, it’s evident that nothing is used on stage as a mere prop. An object that’s not required for a character has no place on stage.
As for the three actors, the play provides ample room for subtext, requiring them to internalise the pauses, body language and deliver their lines accordingly. This is the first play for Shirish, and Poonam contends that she might have withdrawal symptoms once she’s done with the play. But that may not be soon.
Shankar Shesh’s family, keenly observing the production, is eager that the play be staged in Mumbai and Delhi among other cities. “When we got in touch with them requesting permission to stage their play, they were impressed by the work we had done in the past. The original script was developed in a theatre workshop when Shankar Shesh, Arvind Deskpande and Sulabha Deshpande were contemplating on a new production,” informs Vinay.
(Raktbeej will be staged at Telugu University, Nampally road, on July 9 and 10; 7 p.m. Tickets available on bookmyshow.com or call 9704518555/8374822290)
