Joining the nation in the celebration of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary, theatre fraternity of the Capital has paid tribute to him by staging plays on his life and acknowledge his tumultuous times while attempting to convey the contemporary relevance of Gandhian thought. In the process, directors have explored the Gandhian vision and his inner agony caused by the contradictions of his time.
NEW DELHI, (For The Hindu Archives): Theatre personality Bhanu Bharti in New Delhi. Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar.
“Gandhi is more relevant today than he was to his own age. The multi-layered Gandhian philosophy deals with many social phenomena — self-sufficiency in terms of economy, highlighting the point that true Swaraj is only possible when people are self-sufficient and to maintain social harmony there should not be accumulation of wealth in few hands,” says Bhanu Bharti, eminent theatre director, playwright and designer who has directed “Bapu”.
Written by Nand Kishore Acharya as a solo theatrical piece, it dissects Gandhi's times through deep introspection while he is alone in a room, almost deserted by his close followers. Bhanu argues, “Today, centralisation of wealth is creating a great divide. Where is the ‘swaraj’ for the oppressed and dispossessed?”
He holds that these days there is so much disinformation about Gandhi. “That he is responsible for the Partition, Muslim appeasement... “Bapu” exposes this misinformation. For me, he was the greatest Hindu ever lived. At the same time, he was aware of the fact that all religions convey the same message — the emancipation of man and justice for all. This aspect of Gandhian thought is distorted by vested interests. Our play puts Gandhi in proper historical perspective, revealing the profundity of his ideology.”
The seasoned director feels theatre is a strong medium to spread his message to the masses. “I have personally realised it. I told the audience that whatever I have shown is all on record. For some, the play was an eye-opener. In order to take the Gandhian vision to a large number of the audience, I have also directed its English version. Soon, I will take the English version to non-Hindi speaking regions.”
On the challenges that he faced in presenting Gandhi as a solo theatrical piece, Bhanu says the biggest challenge was to keep it authentic as Gandhi is not only a historical figure but also widely documented as a popular icon of recent past.
Everybody has his or her own image about his persona, his looks. Acceptance of the actor as Gandhi can alone make the play successful. “I was fortunate to find not only one but three actors – two of them excellent. In English, it was Sunit Tandon and in Hindi Teekam Joshi,” he concludes, expressing his satisfaction in accomplishing the creation of an excellent production on Gandhi as the tribute of an artist to a great visionary.
One of the widely viewed production as a part of the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi is “Pehla Satyagrahi” written by Ravindra Tripathy and directed by Prof. Suresh Sharma, director of National School of Drama, for the NSD Repertory Company. Commenting on Gandhi's contemporary relevance, Prof. Sharma says, “Simplicity in life and adherence to Satya and Ahimsa are the basic tenets of Gandhi's teachings which are essential for the moral regeneration of a society lost in the mad race to accumulate things with high materialistic values and political power, frequently resorting to unethical means.” He talks about the tremendous response of the audience in different cities the play was staged. “Gandhi's lifestyle was simple who fought throughout life for upholding his moral and spiritual convictions. To capture his simplicity we have freed our production from huge paraphernalia and it was an austere production."
On why NSD commissioned a new playwright to write a new script, Prof. Sharma says, “Most of the available scripts are repetitive. We wanted to bring to light those aspects of the life and philosophy of Gandhi which have not been brought on the stage so far. So we commissioned Ravindra Tripathy, an eminent theatre critic, to write a new script for us with a new approach. I also visited several historical places connected with Gandhi's work. The script was finally discussed by us with the cast and it was given proper dramatic shape with the incorporation of additional inputs by me and performers. Innovations were made in the course of rehearsals and improvisations. The playwright was with us throughout this creative process. It all resulted in a script which is dramatically powerful, fresh, shedding light on little known aspects of Gandhi’s life, mission and message,” says Prof. Sharma.
Veteran theatre director M.K. Raina is staging plays on the Gandhian ideology in different parts of the country on invitation these days. His repertoire consists of four plays – “Stay Yet a While”, based on exchanges of articles, essays, letters and telegrams between Gandhi and Tagore, “Babla Aur Bapu @ Sabarmati Ashram” and “Hatya Ek Aakar Ki” which is about the assassination of Gandhi and “The Great Trial” based on the sedition charge on Gandhi for writing three articles in Young India where he pleaded guilty and was given six years sentence.
It is famous for the statement he gave in the court. An artist with a progressive vision, Raina has created a vast panorama of India's struggle for independence with Gandhi in the centre. Written in a serious tone with an analytical comment on political philosophy these plays embody a contemporary ring.
Elaborating his point of view, he says with optimism, “Neo-capitalism has utterly failed. These days, new movements against social violence and environmental crisis are sweeping across the world. These are peaceful movements, in tune with the Gandhian philosophy of non-violence and Satyagrah, which will bring about peace and changes to make this world a better place to live in.”
