When Nilanjan Choudhury read Badal Sircar’s Bogola Charit Manas , he realised it was ‘a hidden gem, crying out to be staged’. “The play explores deep-rooted human frailties like the fear of failure, fear of the unknown and poor self-esteem that all of us are victims of and recognise. But the simple, humorous and deeply humane treatment of these weighty issues makes the play a delight to perform,” says Nilanjan.
Adapting Sircar’s Bogola, has been both an intellectual and experimental experience for Nilanjan, who sports diverse avatars of corporate professional, author, actor and director. Theatre however, was his first love and the muse for his writing as well. “Like most people who do theatre have realised, it is an itch that has to be periodically scratched.”
Packed with elements of music, dance, slapstick and a little bit of the magic of the Arabian Nights, to enhance Badal da’s fabulous script and lower the barriers of language, Nilanjan’s interpretation of this Bengali play, goes on to integrate with Prakash Belawadi’s Centre for Film and Drama’s (CFD) repertoire of performances during its tenth year anniversary celebrations this month. “CFD was founded to see the city as its community and engage with its cosmopolitan character, which implies the diverse languages that inform Bangalore. However, it is not so easy to get a consistent practice or response beyond the cultural frameworks of Kannada and English-speaking sets. This inclusion of a vital language culture like Bengali is a happy, welcome chance. Hopefully, this effort will help us evolve into a group that accepts and learns from other language cultures,” explains Nilanjan.
Engineering the group with its cast of 10 characters in cosmopolitan Bangalore finds Nilanjan with an astrophysicist, a retired government employee, a home-maker and an assortment of corporate professionals. “These actors have brought in great attitude, commitment and a desire to learn. I was delighted to discover that a few of them demonstrated a flair for singing, dancing and physical theatre, that I think surprised them as well,” says Nilanjan, adding, “ Bogola was written as a Third Theatre play. Performing it on the proscenium brings challenges and possibilities. While the script itself is straight forward, we have invested in bringing the lines to life through magic, slapstick and dance. Also, the interpretation of certain critical roles such as the female genie who comes to Bogola’s aid, would both surprise Badal-da as well as appeal to the feminist in him.”
As with many plays, which appeal across cultures, music bridges the language divide in Bogola with two compositions by Kallol Dasgupta, elements of Bengali folk, Arabic and Western Classical music.
Two shows of Bogola Charit Manas in aid of Riddhi Foundation’s initiatives for senior citizens and underprivileged children will be staged on October 18, 4.30 pm and 7.30 pm at Yavanika, Nrupathunga Road. Tickets are available on BookMyShow.com and IndianStage.in . Telebooking: 99724 54205
