NATI BINODINI steals the show at Bharat Rang Mahotsav

Nati Binodiniimage003

Nati Binodini, presented at Kamani in January 2008 in the NSD Theatre Utsav 2008 by Theatre and Television Associates, New Delhi, Directed by Amal Allana received a standing ovation and was one of the landmark plays of the fest along with Kewal Dahliwal’s  Yatra. Girish Ghosh, Binodini’s Mentor and Theatre Director was brilliantly portrayed by Jayanto Das with his earthy and authentic performance style. The performance of the protogonist was rendered simultaneously by  five actresses: Salima Raza, Swaroopa Ghosh, Natasha Rastogi, Sonam Kalra and Amita Ailawadi. Each one of them represented different ages and stages of the Nati’s life. Salima Raza enthralled the audience with her virtuoso performance and her remarkable stage presence. Nissar Allana’s Moving Venetian Blind style of backdrops with projected images and Glass floor gave the production a kind of slickness that only Nissar can create.

The play opens with the five actresses dressed in white hooded sarees creating a remarkable visual composition. The actresses one by one unfold the multilayered and colored identity of Binodini orchestrated by appropriately dramatic music composed by Devajit Bandyopadhyay.  A take-off from Binodini Dasi’s (1863-1942) autobiography, the play seeks to interrogate and problematize the layered and complex existence of the immensely talented actresses, virtuoso performers in their own right, in nineteenth century Bengali theatre—an existence where their social and economic insecurity became a handle for exploitation by a whole section of the nouveau riche dandified gentry on the one hand, and the mentor-director-playwright-manager of the theatre, on the other. The action is divided into ten sequences, with the ageing Binodini as the Narrator addressing Girish Ghosh and recounting the story of her life, through all its losses and hurts, and its occasional moments of hope and joy. The play ends with an Epilogue where Binodini makes up an uneasy truce with life that had not been very kind to her.

The script jointly deviced by Amal and Salima depicts two journeys—one, that of ‘becoming’ the actress, and the other, the writing of her autobiography, shifting constantly between construction and deconstruction of the dimensions of the persona. Binodini requested Girish Ghosh to write the preface to her book, because she needed the ‘father’ of theatre in Bengal to authenticate the document. He hesitated, declined, then wrote a sort of a condescending apologia. Structurally, the narrative does not follow any time sequence, but there is an overwhelming sense of skepticism about life, humanity and the Almighty.




The partition play, YATRA, moves Bharangam audiences

Yatra

One has been a great admirer of Kewal Dhaliwal’s work and when Madiha Gauhar, the theatre director and actor from Pakistan recommended it to me I realized that it would definitely be a momentous occasion with an intercontinental flavour. And sure enough it was. Like some of Kewal’s previous productions, this too was an intensely moving experience.

Manch-Rangmanch’s  Yatra 1947, conceived without a script and structured through improvisations, was performed in the Bharangam Fest on 9th January 2008. It draws its material from real life incidents, often from oral history—tales told by elderly relatives who had been through the trauma of the times—portraying the suffering of the people who had to undertake arduous journeys, most often, away from their homeland, to another country and milieu. The play consists of more than 40 poems, originating from both India and Pakistan, with theatre students from both sides of the borders taking part.

At the end of the show with audience applauding quite a few of them holding lighted candles of peace and brotherhood in their hands. When Madiha Gauhar asked them if they knew which actors were from India and which ones were from Pakistan, they all said in unison “we don’t even want to know.” Such was the extent to which the audience had been moved by the depth and emotions of the poetry and the fluidly conceived choreography.

As Kewal puts it; “All of us had heard of Partition through the various stories told by our elders. As the days went by in the theatre workshop, and we started to actually perform those stories, we gained profound insights into what those people would have gone through. Thus one of the purposes of this workshop was accomplished. We have taken small steps in making the younger generation aware of the tragedy of the Partition, making them value both the countries. The play does not try to rub salt into the wounds of Partition, but rather attempts to heal them, to transform the barbed wires of hatred into soft lines of life and love. The Punjabi Theatre group Manch-Rangmanch hails from Chandigarh and has also taken its plays to England, Canada, Germany, USA, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Cast and Credits

John Paruej, Bakht Arif, Zora Brar, Prabhjot Kaur, Amir Ismail, M Abid Hussain, Bharat Sadana, Jaskaran Singh Sahota, Ranjit Bansal, Rajwinder Kaur Deol, Rupinder Kaur, Gurjot Singh, Gurleen Kaur, Jagwinder Singh Sodhi, Shallu Arora, Vikramjit Singh, Nitin Singh, Varun Patel, Veerpal Kaur, Gurinder Kumar, Kanwal Nain Kaur, Kanwar Gurpartap Singh, Yadwinder Singh, Rahi Batra, Rajiv Jindal, Ranjit Tapiala, Khola Qureshi, Meena Sadiq, Shahzad Sadiq, Nirwan Nadeem, Bikramjit Ranjha, Muhammad Azaz Khalid, Shahid Zafar, Usmaan Zia, Humayun Pervez

Music: Harinder Sohal Singer: Harinder Sohal, Misha Accompaniment: Jagjit Singh (sarangi), Sony (dholak) Properties: Rajiv Jindal, Gurinder Kumar Costume: Humayun Parvez, Kunwargur Partap Sets: Shallu, Shahid and Shahzad  Assistant Director: Zora Brar, Jajwinder SodhiStage Management: Varun Patel




JANAM Commemorates Safdar’s Martyrdom Day

safdar hashmi

Jan Natya Manch (Janam) remembers Safdar Hashmi on 1st January every year by performing in Sahibabad at the very same place, where he was assassinated on January 1, 1989 by goons of the ruling party. This year too the event was remembered .as a mark of defiance to the perpeturates of the crime. Moloyshree, Safdar’s Widow, Sudhanwa Deshpande along with Janam’s actors performed Sangharsh He Hai Rastaa in a packed Ambedkar Park. The street play performances were interspersed with revolutionary songs Sung by Janam actors and composed by Kajol Ghosh. The event was supported by CITU whose volunteers controlled the massive crowds and provided background support. CPM leader Brinda Karat, a former Janam activist, was also present on the occasion. The audience was very enthusiastic and cheered all the way. Sudhanwa’s hilarious rendition of George Bush dressed as Uncle Sam in One Two Ka Four was greeted by guffaws from the audience. The play highlighted India’s weak foreign policy while negotiating the Nucleardeal with USA and other related issues, Delhi Young Artists Forum did a street play Dilli Door Hai on the forthcoming Commonwealth games and it’s impact on unorganized sector workers of the National Capital Region of Delhi

Janam also organized a Gadar Mela to commemorate the Indian Sepoy Mutiny when in 1857 Indian soldiers killed their British officers and tried to expel the British from India. The format of a typical Diwali Mela was used to educate the visitors about this important event. Janam volunteers cooked the food themselves. The food stalls had rare delicacies like Shakargandi ke Khire, Bajre key Tikki, Sattu ka Paan, Tapioca and what not. There were games for children which included, Quiz Programs, Jigsaw and Crossword puzzles. There were kids events like Fancy Dress Parade. The Sahmat Exhibition was used to enlighten the young audience about the hard won independence.




6th Pune International Film Festival inaugurated in a glittering ceremony

Piff_2 It is that time of the year again which is much awaited by lovers of cinema. The Sixth Pune International Film Festival (PIFF 2008) was inaugurated on Thursday, 10th January at the hands of  Sharmila Tagore, Suresh Kalmadi and Nana Patekar in a grand ceremony organized at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch. This week long festival which kicked off from 10th of January will end on 17th January, treating film buffs to an exclusive collection of national and international movies.

Rajlakshmi Bhosale (Mayor of Pune), Antino Gogala (Councilor of Republic of Slovenia in India), Daniel Johar Zonshine (Council General of Israel), Pravinsinh Pardeshi (Pune Municipal Commissioner) graced the occasion. The international jury and guests were also present for the ceremony. Apart from this, some of the renowned Bollywood stars like Nana Patekar, Ameesha Patel, Amruta Khanvilkar (Sade – Made Teen Fame), Zeenat Amman were also present.

The inauguration ceremony of the festival began with the lighting of the lamp by the guest of honors and “A Naandi” which was followed by dance medley on famous songs

Introducing PIFF at the inauguration, Suresh Kalmadi chairman of PIFF 2008 said, “Pune is the cultural and sports capital of the nation, and is home to several famous institutions like FTII, Prabhat Studio and National Film Archives. This event offers a perfect platform to showcase a group of extremely talented film makers from the international arena to Pune. Around 145 movies were selected from across 43 countries for this year’s film festival.” Further he said, “The much awaited Commonwealth Youth Games, 2008 is the next step forward in placing Pune on the international map of sporting arena. This year Pune is the proud host of the 3rd Commonwealth Youth Games which is being held in Asia for the first time, where nearly 71 countries will be participating.

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Awards were conferred upon eminent actors,  Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore to acknowledge their invaluable contribution to Indian cinema. Later an audiovisual on their  career was screened which effortlessly took the audiences to the golden era of Indian film history.  Nana Patekar stole the show with his sense of humour. He said,” I am very happy to be here today on stage with eminent actors like Shammi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore and Zeenat Amman and I respect them for all the hardwork they have done to achieve this success.”

Courtesy M/s Perfect Relations