Koushik Sen’s theatre group Swapnasandhani, which started its journey in 1992, will be completing 27 years this month. To mark the occasion, Swapnasandhani will be hosting three plays, each of which, upholds the spirit of socially relevant drama.
The three-day theatre festival will see productions like Ekla Chawlo Re and Taraye Taraye by Swapnasandhani, along with Death of a Salesman or Salesmeman’er Shawnghshar by Anjan Dutta Productions.
“Theatre is not like cinema, which is created or preserved digitally for the coming 50 years. Theatre must be staged with a purpose and should carry a meaning. Theatre unfolds in front of your eyes and becomes part of your experience, hence whenever I select a play, I think of the time and the place I am inhabiting,” says the artistic director, Koushik Sen.
“The reason I chose Utpal Dutt’s Ekla Chawlo Re, is because it concerns the history of Partition, which is very relevant at this point in our country. Anjan Dutta’s play Death of a Salesman too bares another facet of the society,” he adds.
Directed by Koushik Sen, Ekla Chawlo Re, is the latest production by Swapnasandhani, where the story evolves around Mahatma Gandhi’s murder and the history of partition. The play is based on Utpal Dutt’s text of the same name, and shows the last few months of Mahatma Gandhi’s life; and how he wanted the Congress to start afresh. The play is a tribute to both Dutt and Koushik Sen’s father Shyamal Sen.
Ashok Mukhopadhyay plays Gandhi, Debsankar Halder plays Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Surajit Banerjee plays Jawaharlal Nehru and Kaushik Sen plays Muhammad Ali Jinnah, while Reshmi Sen plays Kasturba Gandhi.
Anjan Dutt Productions, on the other hand, is going to stage Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman or Salesmeman’er Shawnghshar. The play has been translated into Bengali by Anjan Dutt, who also plays Willy Loman and embodies the single-handed fight of a puny salesman, in search of the American Deam, and his inability to buy it, even at the cost of his life.
“I chose this play because I found the American Dream very common to the Indian Dream, both of which fail very miserably. The only difference in my interpretation is perhaps the omission of the suicide – as Willy keeps postponing it for the insurance money to grow,” says Anjan Dutt, the director of the play. Actor Suprobhat Das plays his elder son Biff Loman in this 45-min long production and the music has been composed by Neel Dutt.
The Third play is Taraye Taraye, based on a novel written by Srijato, called Tara bhawra aakash’er neech’e. The play tries to capture the difficulty in drawing a line between what is considered normal and abnormal, in a society.
Taraye Taraye is the story of a young boy who visualises many things- and among many other things; it’s Van Gogh’s painting and the artist himself, who is speaking to him. His wife takes him to a psychiatrist, although he assures that he is able to make sense of the world around him.
“The play hints that human beings are one of the most gifted beings on earth- gifted with the seed of imagination, and no one should be judged, as each individual is special and is capable of much more than humankind has already achieved,” says director Koushik Sen. “But the play is very open-ended and we leave the audience what kind of message they would like to take back from it,” he adds. Anjan Dutt plays Van Gogh and Riddhi Sen plays the young boy, while the music has been co-ordinated by Neel Dutt.
The third day and final day will also see an award ceremony, instituted in the name of Koushik Sen's father Shyamal Sen, where Swapnasandhani will present a prestigious award to various new talents in theatre, from all over Bengal and India.
At Gyan Manch, Ekla Chawlo Re on May 29, Salesman’er Shongshar on May 30, Taraye Taraye on May 31, 6:30 pm onwards