Seemingly farcical
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The play on Saigal, which built up tremendous expectation, turned out to be inadequate. The Bengali play based on Satyajit Ray's story was entertaining, while the Marathi play worked on many levels
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Photo: Courtesy Rohan Agarwal
POLITICAL PARALLELS Makdachya Hati Champagne was imaginatively constructed as a satire
K. L. Saigal, the outstanding singing star of Indian cinema, was in essence a die-hard fan of Mirza Ghalib. He did not simply sing Ghalib's ghazals with passionate fervour, he also identified with its gloomy overtones. But what for most listeners of music describes Saigal is the unparalleled rendition of the Bhairavi thumri from the film, Street Singer, "Babul Mora." To further point up the iconic status the song achieved, read on what Susheela Mishra says in her book, Great Masters of Hindustani Music: "Saigal did not need an orchestra "of a hundred instruments" or a cacophony of Western and Eastern instruments to support his voice and boost its volume. The barest minimum of a harmonium and tabla were all that he needed to render "Babul Mora" with an expressiveness and emotion that brought tears into every eye. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, music-lovers tried to hum and copy it the way Saigal sang. Even in some of the South Indian AIR stations, there was no ban on casual artistes having a go at this song at the end of a Carnatic recital!"
This was the kind of expectation with which one went to watch the play K.L. Saigal by Pierrot's Troupe, as part of the Ranga Shankara festival, recently. What does one expect from a play that is largely biographical, apart from looking forward to listen yet another time, to some great music by the maestro? These are questions that one has attempted to negotiate previously when the trinities of Carnatic music (on Tyagaraja and Diskhitar by local theatre groups) became the subject for the stage. Such efforts have remained straightforward narratives spinning largely around sequential details of birth, family, struggles and achievements, completely overlooking struggles of an individual pitted against a system. Music does to an extent redeem, but only a wee bit. And this production on K.L. Saigal wasn't largely different.
Tom Alter is the most important ingredient, playing the sutradhar; he not only fills in the gaps in the story, but also presents interesting anecdotes from Saigal's life. Once in a while he does offer a comment, but never sharp enough to set you thinking on a life and the times. But when it did, it was by way of contrast: then and now. For instance, he makes his observations on the rush for recorded music in the present as against the obdurate rebuff by musicians of yesteryear. But sadly, the sutradhar and the rest of the cast remain clinically aloof, within their respective spheres and seem like two different entities.
One did feel a lack of engagement with the performance, with the body language of most performers being diffident, failing to establish even eye contact with the audience. But what really lifted the play were the scenes with the Bengali composer R.C. Boral, for it was not just a bright performance, but it also threw light on the strong regional biases at work.
Uday Chandra, who played Saigal, has a comforting, mellifluous voice. The pleasing nasal twang, the easy, unforeseen gamaks that emerged in his rendering and those beautiful Ghalib ghazals did take the play a long way, but after a point sounded repetitive. Unfortunately the play in no way addressed Saigal's deep awareness of life's fragility, which was the constant obsession of his short life. What is it then? A cultural inability to handle biographical plays or the concept of musicals that still hasn't become our own?
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Bankubabur Bandhu, the Bengali play directed by Koushik Sen, is an adaptation of a short story written by Satyajit Ray. The play is about Banku Babu, a docile and good-natured teacher, who is often the butt of ridicule by both his friends and his students. One night, as Banku walks home after meeting his friends, he sees a strange object that looks like a huge glass bowl. As he moves close to examine it, a weird and wonderful creature jumps out and addresses him. The brief encounter, which changes him into a self-asserting, confident man makes for the rest of the story. With its huge cast, the play was entertaining, even for those who found language a major impediment. It was a vibrant group, so totally at ease with the form, complete with song and dance. Banku Babu's performance - from a much ridiculed, mild-tempered human being to a man in control of his situation was adorably affable. He reminded one of Raghuvir Yadav in Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne. The performance of the childwho played the extra-terrestrial was marked by spontaneity and was thoroughly enjoyable. Pity, that one couldn't follow the lines, which had the Bengali comprehending audience in splits.
The play was fascinating with a theme that has been seldom explored, something that Satyajit Ray tried to address in most of his plays; our relationship with other life forms. In a vague sort of way, the play reminded one of the brilliant Kannada short story by Poornachandra Tejaswi, Mayaloka.
D. G.
The Marathi play Makdachya Hati Champagne, (Champagne in a Monkey's hand) is about three men in a bachelor pad. `Chaku' (Vivek Bele) is uncouth and blunt, Pustak (Sandesh Kulkarni) is a bookworm and `Makad' (Anand Ingale). He is Makad like the monkey who cut off the king's nose while trying to kill a housefly. Makad works as a television reporter, and craves for news all the time, and when there is no news happening, he creates it.Enter Pencil (Sharvani Pillai). The girl Chaku woos. The play seems to be a slapstick comedy. In the play similar tensions revolved around Pustak and Chaku, both contenders for Pencil's attention and love. Pustak's marriage to Pencil, the threat of divorce bigamy with Chaku, find political parallels in vote of no confidence and coalition governments. The play has been imaginatively constructed as a satire. The playwright introduces various concepts and philosophies - "be available" and "conceptual spying" and other hilarious examples of `political strategies' are interspersed with witty lines. The performance was entertaining. The 180 minutes does not seem heavy. For people like me to whom the language is foreign, the high energy of the play and the involvement of the audience kept me going. Pustak moved like an inspired dancer, Makad - worked his voice and face effortlessly and Chaku wasunlike all the unimaginative portrayals made in the past of `uncouth and unversed' people.
One thing that stood out in the performance was the effortless ease in which the entire execution was handled. There was no fumbling of lines. The set was constructed to use the space of the stage appropriately. Three beds, changing murals, a television, an illuminated wine cabinet and even a sink were fitted beautifully, and the actors moved between all this in ease. The coordination between the actors and the sound was perfect. The actors Sandesh Kulkarni, Anand Ingale, Vivek Bele, and Sharvani Pillai not only enjoyed themselves, but performed for a highly energetic audience.
DEEPTHY SHEKHAR
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
