Tapan Das (second from left) and Bidyut Chakraborty (third from right in the foreground) in the play Bhoy. Pictures by Rong SarmahTapan Das (left) and Manoj Sarma in Bhoy

Fear psychosis appears to rule the mental state of the people in contemporary society. In almost every sphere of activity, especially in the urban milieu, fear psychosis is the principal determining factor.

Growing insurgency and a sense of uncertainty or insecurity have fuelled this fear psychosis. This has set the people thinking and its impact is felt among their intellectual pursuits.

This factor must have haunted Amarjit Choudhury, physics scholar par excellence and a member of the elite band of cultural activists, a great deal. At least that is the impression one gets after watching his latest play Bhoy (Fear), which was conceived during his short stay in the city of Florence in Italy immediately after September 11, 2001. The impact of the fear psychosis that had gripped the world then has been sought to be depicted in the play by an amateur theatre troupe.

The play does not have a concrete storyline in the conventional sense. The framework is composed of a few incidents relating to the preparation of a play by a drama troupe under the leadership of a committed playwright director (Dr Choudhury’s alter ego?) — a police raid at the rehearsal in search of an extremist, aggression of the capitalist who patronises the vulgar, so-called popular culture and the unconditional surrender of the playwright-director before it.

Although seemingly disjointed, the incidents are well-knit and have maintained a rhythmic structure. The inner aspirations of the character Bipul, the fear psychosis of the playwright-director and Leena’s reaction to both the mood and manners have brought an essence of magical realism to the play.

Performed in a fresh format, especially the unconventional start and conclusion of the play, Bhoy, which was staged at Rabindra Bhavan from October 25 to 29 by the troupe, Surjya, was a pleasant surprise for the city’s theatre-lovers. Simple settings, complimented by natural, meaningful light design by Prem Prasad, helped the director a great deal in maintaining the essence of the underlying sorrow in the play.

Kishor Giri’s music, especially the subtle, touching guitar strokes and the song at the end of the play, was an additional positive aspect of the production.

On the acting front, it was undoubtedly the seasoned and experienced Tapan Das who led the show. The performance of this versatile and talented actor was flawless. But as far as the acting of the troupe is concerned, a few more productions of the play are perhaps needed for some fine-tuning. This will also help and inspire director Sanjeev Hazarika to add more of his own inputs into the performances. Kanakee Bhuyan, as Leena, has worked hard but needs to enrich her insight into the character. So does Kapil Bora as Bipul. Bidyut Chakraborty, however, truly lived up to his reputation of being charming and impressive.

Rong Sarmah