Subhadip Raha’s HASH ERNESTO TAG GUEVARA

image_pdfimage_print

Playwright & Director: Subhadip Raha

Group: Krishiv Creations, Pune

Language: Hindi & English

Duration: 1 hr 15 mins

The Play

Delhi based lecturer Rajashree and her sister arrive at a country side place to stay in a government guest house. This place is a guerrilla warzone. Rajashree is a self – styled political idealist sympathiser of the guerrillas. An alibi for her presence is that of a researcher pursuing a PhD related to the place. Her sister Sudha is a college girl without an ideology, but flamboyant and rebellious. She is told not to step out of the guest-house. The bored collegiate draws her sister into a discussion around political ideology, questions her leanings, compelling Rajshree to reveal her true purpose. She is an undercover scribe on a mission to uncover the police’s human rights violation for holding a guerrilla leader captive. She seeks permission to meet the leader in lieu of finding out his name. She enters the cell surprised on seeing the guerrilla who (it seems) is no one else, but – Che Guevara! He / his look alike engage and disrobe her ‘pseudo’ socio-political ideology, in conversation. Doubtful, she leaves the cell casually naming the captive leader as, Che Guevara to the police, returning to the guesthouse.  Sub- inspector Sant gleefully reveals the captive’s identity, to be Che and gets beaten for no one believes him. Sudha too is shocked by the sting video. Rajashree reaches the police station to meet the leader and clear her doubts. Sant allows her a last chance while threatening her with death. She confronts Che, but ends up distressed at her inability to justify her belief and his identity. Meanwhile the inspector hears an animal’s howl coming from the captive’s cell. Reaching there he spots a wolf donning Rajshree’s earings and necklace. The sight is full of blood spilling from the wolf’s mouth onto the floor. Che Guevara is witnessing the sight, (defiantly).

Director’s Note

At mid-night when the moon rises on top of the sky I always try and find my twin but am attacked always. Memories of childhood have been giving productive-ambiguity to my socio political stand. As it’s like I am in the children’s park digging the soil at my feet and concentrating my whole effort to witness a color – which, punches my head, touches me, penetrates my sweat, grills my eyes, blasts my ears repeatedly. I and they fly probably, from the dug up hole – the three musketeers meet move their heads looking at me I pick my pen up. Something has given birth out of our own critical political ideologies; we then approach the cloudy rehearsals, like boxers punch at their adversaries inside a ring spilling blood in the center. We smell it and approach the unbearable crisis daily. We all put glasses to see the approaching shadow of, supersonic Ernesto Che Guevara – we kiss, hit, dig, burn and hug him finally. Each day becomes its last, the last chance, we explore, deal with this edgy, long lasting poisonous fact. I look around me eternally! Which direction? There’s one… Hash Ernesto Tag Guevara takes birth!

The Director and Playwright

Subhadip Raha began professional theatre in the 1980’s in Siliguri, West Bengal. He is the fourth generation in a family of theatre practitioners. He was trained in theatre at HCRFTA Mandi, Himachal Pradesh and subsequently at National School of Drama 2007. Started teaching at Anupam Kher’s school, Actor Prepares, Mumbai and Center for Research in Film and Television, Delhi. He is on the panel of visiting faculty of Bhartendu Natya Academy, Lucknow. Now, he is creative Director at Indira school of Communication and Acting Academy, Pune. He has directed about 40 plays and acted in hundreds, has also written 5 plays.

The Group

Krishiv Creations was formed on 28th August 2014. The main purpose of the group is to promote and encourage experimental, alternative theater. Its previous productions are Antaryatra (Marathi, Wri. Dr. Sameer Mone), Udakshanti (Sanskrit, Wri. Vinaya Kshirsagar), Titiksha (Marathi, Wri. Dr. Sameer Mone), Anthaarambha (Sanskrit, Wri. Yatin Mazire), Naa Jaane Kyun (Hindi, Wri. Pramod Kale), Thumba se Tapal (Marathi, Wri. Yatin Mazire) all directed by Yatin Mazire. Hash Ernesto Tag Guevera is written and directed by Subhadip Raha. Just Assassins is group’s latest production written by Albert Camus and Directed by Girish Pardeshi.

Cast & Credits

Che Guevara:  Girish Pardeshi 

Rajshree: Gita Guha

Inspector: Amit Kumar

Sudha: Pramitee Narake

Stage Manager: Aditya More

Property: Nishchay Atal, Sudhakar Ingole 

Light Design: Sagnik Chakravarty 

Backstage: Prasoonratam

Music Execution: Amay Surve

Stage Management: Hardik Kaushal

Playwright & Director: Subhadip Raha

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.

You may also like...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *