Deyal Likhon

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The Play
The play is set in Berlin, Germany, in early thirties of the past century. Dr. Mamlok, an eminent Jewish surgeon, a patriot who had served in the national army, gets upset on finding the jeopardy of national unity in the name of caste-creed-religion and political beliefs, under the rising of Nazi regime. He and his daughter are molested by Nazi-hooligans, and he is barred from working in his own hospital. He is threatened by his subordinate Dr. Helpach, now a Nazi official, to be publicly molested with his whole family. Mamlok’s pride cannot take it anymore. He commits suicide in order to escape the life of endless torture.

Director’s Note
The play Professor Mamlok written by German playwright Friedrich Wolf, and translated in Bengali by Utpal Dutta inspired me to write and direct this new play Deyal-Likhon (The WallPost). I found this a challenging offer to handle such intricate shades of human emotions and relationships in the whirlpool of socio-political unrest. Its original realistic pattern doesn’t suit my current text, rather demands nearly an expressionistic Epic-Theatre style, with input of a lot of modern theatrical imaginations and innovations. With a great challenge I enjoyed it thoroughly as a director.

The Director & Playwright
The career of Asit Basu as a playwright and director spans over more than half a century in the field of performing arts in West Bengal. Being a close associate, assistant director, and leading actor of the late maestro Utpal Dutta, he established himself with a keen sense of socio-political awareness in his works. He presented legendary stage productions like Kolkatar Hamlet, Raangtar-Mukut, Mrtyuheen Praan, E-Maha Jagaran, Charandas Mla Evam Nautankilal, etc. in the group Theatre Movement. His directorial works like Kirat-Parva and Kusha-Puttalika and his designed production Jaan-E-Kalkatta enjoyed the honour of being showcased in BRM with great appreciation. He has also excelled in the field of Jatra (Traditional Theatre of Bengal), TV and Film, and as a documentary film maker.

The Group
Paikpara Akhor was formed in 2007 under the guidance of Guru Asit Basu. The group endeavours to practice theatre with national and regional cultural identity that is facing a fatal threat due to the world-wide invasion of ‘Global Culture’ in present times. Sri Basu has trained new directors, actors and playwright under his esteemed guidance. As a result Ms. Bhadra Basu has emerged as an eminent playwright-director since 2009 with productions like Jaan-E-Kalkatta, Preetilata, Mala-Chandan etc. This group is trying to bring theatrical awareness amongst children with proper training and practice. Since its inception this group has successfully staged Shiber Gajon, Pratirodh (a Street Play), Jaan-E-Kalkatta, Kathtaamrita, Preetilata, MalaChandan, Dukhiram, Meni(Binodini)-o-Kolkatar Theatre, Dukhiram, Manik, Rupmoti-Gatha, and recent production Deyal-Likhon. The group has performed hundreds of shows altogether, winning the hearts of the audience, all over the country.

Cast & Credits

Dr. Hans Mamlok Asit Basu
Frau Ellen Mamlok Bhadra Basu
Frauline Ruth Mamlok Shubharupa Chatterjee
Rolph Mamlok Tayhagata Caudhuri
Dr. Inge Ruyof Shipra Mukherjee
Dr. Helpachk Shubhankar Ray
Dr. Harsch Asit Baran Mitra
Dr. Karlsen Partha Mukherjee
Ward-Boy Simon Indrajit Midye
Nurse Frau Hedwik Sudakshina Cowdhury
Nurse Shraboni Halder
Frau Ruyof Swapna Bhowal
Verner Djidel Prasenjit Ghosh
The Injured Worker Anup Das
Nazi-Guard Bidhan Halder
Ernst Biswajit Das
Martin Priyanath Mukherjee
Papen Madhukor Guha
Light Design Dipankar Dey
Sound Operation Somnath Das
Script, Design & Direction Asit Basu

 

Manohar Khushalani

Manohar Khushalani

Prof. Manohar Khushalani is a former Visiting Faculty at Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, Delhi. The courses he taught were: Animation & Graphics, Non-Linear Editing for Film and Radio and Theatre Appreciation.  He has won a total of nine Excellence in Teaching awards for all the courses he has taught at IIITD Earlier he retired from Government of India as Director Environment Management, Central Water Commission and held many senior positions in the Government Based on a Belief that Culture and Environment are the two keys to global sustainability , Manohar Khushalani has launched two portals: A Portal on Environment and Water called One Vorld at url: www.onevorld.org and two Ezines on Culture called Stage Buzz at url: www.stagebuzz.in He has taught extensively in varied subjects such as Dam Safety, Instrumentation, CAD, IT, Animation, Theatre, Newspaper Editing. He has conducted Courses on Environment Management, Water Shed Development, Team Building and Personality Development. He was an Expert Member of Prasar Bharti’s Committee for Grading & Short listing Films for Telecast on all channels of Doordarshan.  He is a Radio Anchor for All India Radio and has moderated several programs for the Rajdhani Channel He is a well-known Theatre Actor/Director and Critic, has been involved in theatre since 1977. He has worked as an actor in over 50 plays with almost every leading director/Actor in the Country including Badal Sircar, Feisal Alkazi, Amal Allana, M.K. Raina, Anuradha Kapoor, Maya Rao, Manohar Singh, Prasanna, Rati Bartholomew and Sushmita Mukherji. He has been active in the social sector as a street theatre activist. As a member of Workshop Theatre, Theatre Union and Prayog, Khushalani has participated in street plays taking up major social issues such as dowry, bride burning, Sati, banned medicinal drugs and communalism. Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Can’t Pay Won’t Pay, both directed by him, received rave notices from critics and audiences alike. Other plays directed by him include Badal Sircar’s, Sagina Mahato and Boris Vian’s Empire Builders for Ruchika Theatre Group. Khushalani has also acted in a few films such as Sudhir Mishra's Hazaron Khwaishen Aisi , Shoojit Sircar’s Madras Café and Pradeep Krishan's Annie Gives Those Ones. He is an Animator & Graphics Designer and has directed a number of documentaries. He also held a number of Honorary positions and was President of North India Films Association, He was the Chairman of  Jury for UGC CEC Educational Films Competition and has been on their Preview Committee since last many years. He was on the preview committee of Door Darshan Channel 3, was a visiting Professor at National School of Drama, New Delhi, and Film & Television Institute of India, Pune, AJKMCRR, Jamia Milia Islamia and Professor in Media at FICT, Delhi  He has judged a large number of Drama Competitions and conducted a number of Theatre / Management Games Workshops with Institutions such as AIIMS, NTPC, CWPRS, NWA, Karve Nari Prakshishan Sansthan, FICT, IIT, MAMC, Gargi College, KNC, Tagore International School and Vivekananda School. He is a Theatre Critic for IIC Diary, has also been a Columnist with Midday and Pioneer Daily and wrote Column's Called Culture Cocktail and Footlights Respectively. He was also the Guest Editor for an issue on Folk Theatre of ICCR Journal Horizons. He has written for Times of Indian, Hindustan Times, Blitz, Hard News, Hindu Business Line, Theatre India & Art Times. He has designed dams and hydraulic structures for the Government. He is a programmer and has developed Engineering design software in Fortran. He is a co-author of Irrigation Practice & Design (Vol 1 to5 - 1500 pages) published by Oxford & IBH and sponsored by National Book Trust. He has been a Director, Environment and Sociology, at the National Water Academy, Khadakwasla and Director, Environment Management Directorate, Central Water Commission and Member Secretary, National Environmental Monitoring Committee for River Valley Projects. He was also Director of Instrumentation Directorate in the Dam Safety Organisation. He was Chief General Manager and Head of Water Resources at Scott Wilson and is an accredited consultant with numerous other organizations He is a Delhi Public School, BITS Pilani, IIT Delhi and FTI Pune Alumini. He was also the President of BITS Pilani Alumni Association, Pune.

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