A still from the play Janemann. Pictures by Hrishikesh Roy A still from the play Uska BachpanA still from the play Dimag-e-hasti

The National School of Drama repertory company’s weeklong third theatre festival that ended on New Year’s day at Rabindra Bhawan provided a wonderful opportunity to the theatre lovers of Guwahati to savour some excellent theatre productions. Organised in collaboration with Assam’s directorate of cultural affairs, the fest evoked high expectations — and true to them, the very best of Indian theatre was staged.

The festival got under way with the play Chukaienga Nahi, directed by Bhanu Bharti. Adapted from Nobel laureate Dario Fo’s work,

Chukaienga Nahi portrays the clash of two diametrically-opposite responses to contemporary situations, conveyed through two protagonists — Govind (Suresh Sharma) and his wife Baljinder K. Sharma. The idealist husband’s reactions to his wife’s appropriation of goods from the local supermarket in her efforts to provide for the family give rise to some hilarious farcical situations that were skilfully exploited by the director. The eventual subjugation of Govind’s idealism to life’s adversities after the loss of his job brings the man and the woman to a point where stealing had to be admitted by both. In this play, Assam’s Parag Sarma enacted four different roles and made his presence felt as a foil to the two protagonists in the play.

Machindra More’s Janemann, the second play showcased in the festival, was an intimate journey into the lives of eunuchs. It was a revelation and director Waman Kendre’s deft handling of the seldom-talked-about-subject made the production a unique experience. The play was written specifically to deal with the subject at the instance of director Waman Kendre and his wholehearted involvement was discernible in the entire show. Kendre deserves full credit for the get-up, gestures and voice modulation of the actors — where male actors donning female garb play the role of eunuchs in a very convincing manner. Costumes designed for the play by Oscar-winner Bhanu Athaiya also contributed immensely towards adding authenticity to the play’s characterisation. Govind Pandey as Najjo Naik and Brijesh Sharma as Panna stood out in the play. Teekam Joshi, in his heart-rending journey from an effeminate male to Bulbul and his conversion to Nagina and after, also gave a fine performance. The macabre ritual of male castration in the play was particularly gripping.

Three short stories of Mohan Rakesh were made the basis of D.R. Ankur-directed Teesari Yatra. The narration dealt with the attraction felt by even married men and women for people outside the marital bond. The efforts to fulfil desires that cannot be satisfied in a conventional relationship and the travails of the characters in seeking fulfilment in their lives made Teesari Yatra a thought-provoking production.

The histrionic talents of Ajay Kumar (Veeru) and Kavita Verma (the mother) were on full show at the fourth presentation of the festival, Uska Bachpan, scripted by Krishna Baldev Vaid. The play deals with the life of a lower middle class family and the erosion of their traditional relationship and values. The actors in this play lead separate lives — one within their home and another outside. Veeru, the child, has been projected as the interpreter of the action and thoughts of the characters. Uska Bachpan deftly balances the pathos and comic in a fulfilling manner and the director deserves compliments for effectively using minimal props to tell his story with great verve and style. This play provided great opportunities to the director to explore different shades of human emotions and D.R. Ankur certainly lived up to the demands of the situation. Asif Ali, in the role of the suffering head of the family, had a poignant presence and his acting as well as that of Jagat Singh Rawat clearly caught the attention of the audience.

Ek Violin Samander Kinare is the dramatisation of the original work of Kishen Chander, which also deals with human relationships. The play unfolds in the backdrop of the Ellora sculptures where Keshav from the heavens falls in love with Rambha — a tourist from Mumbai. Besotted Keshav, with the permission of Shiva, arrives in the mortal world in his quest for his beloved and the play ends with Rambha declaring her love for another and Keshav’s realisation of his futile journey through time and space.

The set designs and the lights of Ek Violin... played a major role in the development of the play. Director Suresh Sharma, who also dramatised the original novel, handled this production involving continuous change of locales, incidents and characters with great authority and made Ek Violin... a delightful presentation. However, Teekam Joshi’s dialogue delivery — very effective in Janemann — sounded monotonous without appropriate modulation. The performance of Sonamani Banerjee as Karry and Govind Pandey in the cameo role of music director stood out in Ek Violin....

Playwright Mahendra Bhallas’ Dimag-e-Hasti Dil Ki Basti Hai Kahan Hai Kahan is an exploration of the lives of the elderly. In this sensitively-crafted play, the author unravels his story by entering the homes of three elderly couples — each of whom are haunted by the insecurity of old age. Under the direction of Ram Gopal Bajaj, a former chief of the NSD repertory, this production significantly complements the playwright’s efforts and is a fine example of what good theatre should be. The play needed the involvement of sensitive actors to interpret the subject at both the physical and emotional levels and Jagat Singh Rawat as Kalidas and Kavita Verma as Ruchi deserve high marks for their performance. The imaginative set design by Robin Das requiring minimal movements for change of settings and appropriate use of lights and music lent the production an ethereal quality, making the presentation stand out in the festival. The director, Ram Gopal Bajaj, deserves all the applause Dimag-E-Hasti... received from the Guwahati audience and more.

The final curtains on the fest were drawn with the presentation of Antaral, written by Mohan Rakesh. This play, which focuses on the life of two protagonists, each of whom is trying to come to terms with life, explores the vacant space in a man-woman relationship. This required restrained performances and Assam’s Dakshina Sharma as the woman protagonist put in a fine performance, despite occasional hiccups in her lines. She is obviously the actress to look out for. Director Ranjeet Kapoor used slides to project the appropriate pictures in the play where myriad locales and situations had to be depicted thereby effectively fighting the constraints of a fixed stage. Slide projection, coupled with fine sound effects, was highly effective in capturing the mood of the play.

Enthused possibly by the warm response the NSD repertory had received from the city audience during the previous two festivals, the NSD had, this year, also put up their shows in other Assam towns like North Lakhimpur, Jorhat and Dibrugarh. This time round, though the Rabindra Bhawan was nearly full on all evenings, the crowd response was definitely less. The repertory chief, Suresh Sharma, thus did not actually commit that the team would return next year, though he did say that the repertory would attempt a play of Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla “as soon as a Hindi translation was available”. Good show NSD repertory company.