Ram Gopal Bajaj at the workshop conducted by the NSD in Guwahati

Guwahati, March 30: One of the biggest names on the national theatre scene is coming to Assam with an anti-war message.

Ram Gopal Bajaj, a winner of the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, intends to use his first stage production in Assam to tell the people of the militancy-hit state about the futility of war. The curtain will go up on the Assamese adaptation of the theatre titan?s hit production, Andhya Yug, on April 8.

Bajaj?s foray into Assamese theatre is being facilitated by the National School of Drama (NSD), which will select 30 actors for the play after a 45-day workshop being held in collaboration with local legend Baharul Islam and wife Bhagirathi?s Seagull Theatre Academy.

?The workshop is a good opportunity for me to come closer to this part of the region. Without wasting the opportunity, I have decided to turn one of my most popular plays into Assamese,? said Bajaj, a former director of the NSD.

The play, to be staged in the auditorium of Seagull Theatre Academy in Guwahati, has wowed audiences across the country. It hasbeen translated into all major Indian languages. Dulal Roy has translated Dharambir Bharti?s original play in Hindi into Assamese.

?The play, though broadly based on mythology, has universal appeal and subtly reflects the present chaotic situation in the state,? said Bajaj, 65.

The one-and-a-half-hour play opens with a scene from the Mahabharat, specifically the last day of the epic battle at Kurukshetra, and ends by conveying a strong anti-war message.

?Judging by the hard work put in by the students, I hope to receive a good response from the audience,? the director said.

The music for the play has been scored by another Sangeet Natak Akademi award-winner, Bhaskar Chandaverkar, in association with Islam. The latter is a recipient of the Manohar Singh award.

Some of the best-known people in the NSD are working on the play, including costume designer Nalini R. Joshi, light designer Ashok Sagar Bhagat, choreographer Prabhat Bhaskar and set designer Pabitra Rabha.

?The theatre scene in Assam is in a state of crisis. Plays by big names like Bajaj will definitely resurrect Assamese theatre,? said Bhagirathi, principal of the Seagull Theatre Academy.

Some of the major directorial ventures of Bajaj are Ashadh Ka Ek Din, Qaid-e-Hayat, Skandagupt, Surya Ki Antim Kiran Se Surya Ki Pehli Kiran Tak, Seagull, Dimag Ki Hasti Dil Ki Basti and Lower Depths.

Born in 1940 at Darbhanga in Bihar, Bajaj earned his bachelor?s degree from Bihar University before joining the NSD to specialise in acting. He is one of the founder members of Dishantar, which came into being in 1967 as a forum for professional theatre artistes.

Apart from theatre, Bajaj has dabbled in radio, television and films as an actor. He has worked with top cinema directors like Shekhar Kapur, Prakash Jha, Ketan Mehta and Shaji Karun.