Theatre for all
SHAPING THOUGHT Badal Sircar has been a big influence on Amol Palekar's life as an actor
Badal Sircar, the legendary playwright and director, has become synonymous with Third Theatre, which in the '70s was a major departure from notions of theatre that existed until then. This radical new trend threw theatre open to huge gatherings, without a fee. Of course, voluntary contributions were accepted at the end of the play. Badal Sircar, like the Polish director, Jerzy Grotowski, believed in minimalistic props and costumes, stressing that the human body was the most powerful object in a theatre performance.
Ranga Shankara, along with Karnataka Nataka Academy as part of their series on five major theatrepersons, brought Badal Sircar to discussion. Filmmaker and theatreperson Amol Palekar, who has worked with Badal Sircar, found it fascinating that he could write plays that had so many different sensibilities ranging from Vallabhpuri ki Roopkatha and Baki Itihaas to Evam Indrajit.
For Amol Palekar, Badalda's Third Theatre was a source of enrichment and changed his outlook to life. "Badalda took us to the core of theatre, made it so much more meaningful to my entire generation of people interested in theatre."
Amol Palekar.
Prathibha Agarwal, the founder of Natyashod Samsthan, Bhopal, the biggest theatre archive in the country, said that Badal Sircar was a combination of many personalities. Prathibha, who has also translated many of his plays, said his clarity of thought and the manner in which he explored the psychological realms of each of his characters, fascinated her. Prathibha noted that his writing was absolutely crisp and there was no room for any editing.
What could have been an enlightening experience ended up being rather drab with the speakers restricting themselves mostly to personal experiences.
For discussion on Badal Sircar, who, at 80, continues to stir many a theatre enthusiast, this seminar ended up lacking in the spirit that epitomises him.
D.G.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Entertainment
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
