Neeta Mohandra enacts Chanda Mama Dur Ke on Monday. Telegraph picture

Paradip, March 1: Two plays were staged on Sunday and Monday as part of the eighth National Theatre Festival organised by Canfest here.

Presenting a fresh viewpoint on the issues of sexuality and gender dominance with meticulous artistry, Vijay Tendulkar’s Marathi masterpiece Sakharam Binder set the stage on fire on Sunday. Theatre aficionados had the rare privilege of viewing this internationally-acclaimed play at the festival.

“We had heard a lot about the playwright Vijay Tendulkar and his evergreen scripts. Sakharam Binder bore testimony to it. Right from the day the festival kicked off, I had made up my mind to watch Tendulkar’s play,” said Dipti Prakash Pattnaik, an avid theatre lover from the port town.

The acclaimed play, that had irked feminists in the past, was staged by Himachal Cultural Research Forum.

The plots revolves around a book-binder, Sakharam and his lust and escapades. In the play, Sakharam is in a live-in relationship, which has recently been accorded legal sanction by the Supreme Court. “Parmeshwar ki adalat ka gunah ek hi hai, jhuth bolna,” (The only sin in the court of God is dishonesty) believes the book binder, who accepts women deserted by their partners and lets they stay in his house. In return, he expects the woman to behave like a wife and provide sexual favours without the bond of marriage.

“Sakharam is a lone man who stands against the institution of marriage and dares to reveal the hypocrisy of social conventions. He is an ordinary person with an extraordinary view of life. His actions are an indictment of the world in which he lives,” said director Suresh Sharma.

In the course of the play, Sakharam comes in contact with Champa, a rustic woman. The village girl casts a spell on him. Consequently, there is a reversal of gender roles as he is at her beck and call. His paramour Laxmi opposes the relationship and hatches a plot to eliminate her. Sakharam’s friend Dawood authors the crime in taking the life of Champa. After his beloved’s death, the book binder undergoes a change in his attitude and looks towards a better conjugal life.

“The theatrics and the drama of the play are praiseworthy but the theme is a bit disturbing,” said S.A. Khan, an employee of the Port Trust.

“Be it the casting couch or climbing the corporate ladder, female insecurities and sexual exploitation have become a part of our society,” said Prasanna Nath, who played the role of Champa.

On Monday, theatre lovers savoured the flair and elegance of a solo play Chanda Mama Dur Ke directed by thespian M.K. Raina.

“For me, witnessing a solo drama was a novel experience. For the first time, I watched a solo play. It was an exhilarating experience. The contents were socially relevant and women-centric. The solo acting was superb. The Oriya plays should take a cue and should pay attention towards such plays where a single actor or actress takes centrestage,” said Kritikka Kochar, a student of journalism and mass communication.

The play is a dialogue between an expecting mother and her unborn child. The play is a campaign against female foeticide with an assertive message on child rights. As the play progresses, it gradually moves beyond the mother-child paradigm and transcends onto a new level of human understanding and communication. It’s a brilliant psychological analysis of the women’s craving for motherhood.

The play is an adaptation of an Italian book Letters to an Unborn Child written by Oriana Fallaci.

The sole character, played by Neeta Mohandra of the Amritsar-based Rangtoli troupe, establishes a rapport with the child in her womb. She starts communicating with the child from the very day she conceives.

The theatrical set up added profundity to the drama. The use of a matka attached to a long red cloth hanging in loops was a symbol of the mother’s womb attached to the umbilical cord. The play addresses the various crises and power structures in contemporary society and also the aspects of deviant human behaviour. “The perfect sync in the play was like a musical poetry. It was a nerve-jerking experience to dive into the hardships faced by single working women,” said S.C. Naik, a Paradip College teacher.

There was transparency in the emotions giving an insight into the mother’s inner turmoil that led to the death of her unborn child,” said S.C. Naik, a teacher at Paradip College.

It’s a love-hate story between the protagonist and her unborn child. When the child decides not to be born calling life a death sentence, the protagonist feels inert and dead. “As a mother I could feel the pain of losing a child who builds a divine relationship with his mother in the womb itself. The portrayal of a prevalent social facet along with a mother’s emotional catastrophe left an indelible mark on my mind,” said Ranjita Patnaik, a theatre lover.

“It was a superb stage performance with distinctive signs of directorial brilliance and powerful screenplay. For two hours, the plot and sub-plots provided immense thrill to the audience,” Canfest secretary Sriman Mishra said.