WISEST FOOL ON EARTH TAKES A POT-SHOT 

Calcutta, Dec.1 :    Calcutta, Dec.1:  Loo and behold Rajit Kapur - theatre lovers in Calcutta may be deprived of the opportunity to do so, unless things work out in favour of the protean actor and impresario Ina Puri, who is trying to bring his production of Wisest Fool on Earth to this reputedly stage-struck city. For the past month, Puri has been approaching culture clubs in the city to sponsor the production because 'it moved me as an issue.' But she is aghast that till now she has drawn a blank. Even five-star hotels here are unwilling to touch the production. 'The rejection was blunt,' says Puri. And why is the one-man play untouchable? Because, says an exasperated Puri, it deals with the apparently taboo issue of homosexuality. And second, it is peppered with scatological terms, which have offended its possible sponsors, though such words have passed into everyday speech. Kapur, who was in town for a shoot and left for Mumbai on Friday morning, was in a tizzy, too. Because the Mrs Grundies of Delhi are disapproving. At a Delhi centre where Kapur has been performing for close to a decade, he was told that they would have a problem with the board of directors. It was suggested that Kapur bowdlerise the play, although it has a censorship certificate. But as he declares: 'I am not going to tone down the language. It's a character. The situation will change if I change his language.' So what is this 45-minute play which is embroiled in a controversy even before it is staged? Wisest Fool on Earth, says Kapur, was written by Professor Raj R. Rao of the English faculty at Pune University eight years ago. He was introduced to it by Toni Patel, a theatre director, who has since died of cancer. Kapur did not want to stage it in regular proscenium and preferred to perform it in an intimate atmosphere. Five years ago, Kapur held a reading of it at Alliance Francaise in Mumbai. He got the act together earlier this year, and it was premiered in Pune in August-end. 'It is a challenge to stage a one-man show. To hold an audience for 45 minutes is difficult. Unless I can do it, I don't know my job well,' says Kapur. Subsequently, he held performances for supper theatre at Holiday Inn, and at Mahindra World College in Pune. 'The response is always very good. Through the 45 minutes, layers unfold. A man is confined in the toilet. He uses abusive language but he is not doing so to titillate. It is not a bedroom comedy. He is letting off steam. You tend to bare your soul in the toilet. He is a post-graduate and unemployed. It is about his frustrations, likes and dislikes. He is stark naked, metaphorically.' Kapur, however, will not take things lying down. He is determined to stage it in every metropolis. Says Kapur: 'I don't want 10-year-olds to see it. But I do want 20-year-olds to see it. One is not doing it for money. This play has to be seen in Calcutta.' He was particularly taken aback by the reaction in Calcutta because 'if you want to start something new, you try it in Calcutta. Encouragement is expected in Calcutta.' Puri, too, has taken up the challenge. She will approach British Council, but now that her back is up, she will do it anyway, and as soon as possible. The target date is March.