Natadha has renewed its tryst with the Mahabharata almost two decades after it first started exploring the cross-currents of power in the court of Hastinapur. Written by Shib Mukhopadhyay and directed by Arna Mukhopadhyay, Mahabharata 2, the latest avatar of the play, is based on the “Udyoga Parva”, the fifth book of Ved Vyasa’s epic, which explores failed negotiations and behind-the-scene activities leading to the battle of Kurukshetra. In a little less than 200 minutes and across 28 immaculately laid out scenes, Mahabharata 2 succeeds in capturing the angst and the ambition that symbolise our times, which are riddled with military ambition.
Shib Mukhopadhyay dissects the human mind and its motivations and takes plenty of creative liberties. For instance, Draupadi (Sohini Sarkar) is depicted as a free soul who would not mind transgressing the moral code of conduct while sharing her bed with the Pandavas. Her amorous relationship with Krishna (Arpan Ghoshal) is also made explicit. Uttara (Upabela Pal) is smitten by her dance trainer, Arjuna, before taking Abhimanyu as her husband. Krishna’s efforts to forge a mega-alliance among Hastinapur, Indraprastha and Dwarka to propel a powerful nation-state win over all but Duryodhana (Arna Mukhopadhyay) who exerts a Machiavellian control over the crown. Dhritarashtra (Kaushik Chatterjee), the lawful king, is stuck to his wheelchair as his elder son enforces his whims at his father’s expense, with Bhanumati (Swagata Rit) — Duryodhana’s wife — offering resistance.
Arna Mukhopadhyay breaks free from the traditional staging of epic narratives in terms of moves and manners. The male actors mostly wear Chinese-collared shirts, while Draupadi and Uttara flaunt contemporary skirts and tops, expanding the cultural sweep of the Aryan epic beyond the Aryavarta region.
Sumit Panja’s choreography takes cues from various indigenous combat forms, touching upon both the Dravidian and the Mongoloid regions. Chatterjee is masterful as a frail king who cannot tame his unruly elder son. Arna Mukhopadhyay shares the acting honours by portraying a freewheeling Duryodhana who needs power to erase memories of neglect and subjugation.
