That singular perspective
DIWAN SINGH BAJELI
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Theatre director Bapi Bose talks about his latest play and what ails our stage today.
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ON A CREATIVE SWIRL Bapi Bose
As a young man he was an enthusiastic performer of Jatra, the traditional theatre of Bengal. His fascination for this form of theatre inspired him to get involved in IPTA and the group theatre movement of West Bengal in the mid-seventies. To deepen his understanding of theatre and become a professional artiste, he underwent advanced training in the theatrical art in India and abroad. Over the years, he has been able to make a niche for himself as a serious and fine creative stage director, adept at handling various genres of theatre.
But today, Bapi Bose is angry and worried. "The prevailing theatre scene in India is hardly conducive to creativity, offering little room for freelance professional practitioners to work," he says.
Expressive
Devoted to his art and in persistent search of new expressive means, Bapi's work, "Pratham Parth", recently staged in New Delhi, is being discussed in the theatre circles as a work of art which left a deep impact on the audience, forcing it to experience the prick of conscience. "I am a regional theatre worker but am now doing Hindi theatre. `Pratham Parth' is my humble tribute to the great Hindi literature and it is a manifestation of my love for Hindi," he says.
"The play", he continues, "is written by Buddhadeva Bose, a towering luminary of Indian literature. In my long journey as a theatre artiste I have done many prestigious productions. But doing `Pratham Parth' is a different experience. I put my heart and soul into its making." Since it is a verse play, he says, you need a special kind of feel and sensitivity to translate dialogue into Hindi. "I did this in collaboration with Manish Manoja."
An alumnus of the National School of Drama, armed with a Senior Diploma in Drama Direction from the Institute of Indian Theatre Arts, Kolkata, Bapi talks about "Pratham Parth" excitedly. "It is a great play. It revolves round Karna, an unforgettable hero of the Mahabharata. He was a great warrior, a scholar and incomparable and noble philanthropist, discarded and disowned by his own mother, insulted and humiliated by his own clan. It exposes the omnipresent and omniscient Lord Krishna who was instrumental in the destruction of Karna resorting to unethical means. There have been many Karnas in human history who were meted out the same fate by vested interests. But the play has remarkable contemporary relevance: it dissects human relations, especially the relationships between children and parents. It has a powerful message for world peace."
Bapi says he is now worried about the future of his Circle Theatre Company which produced several productions of high artistic standard in the past, including "Pratham Parth". "We got financial assistance from the Department of Culture, Government of India. But this is not enough. In Delhi, one needs about one lakh rupees for a production of the scale of `Pratham Parth'. I am yet to pay the light designer and my actors who worked very hard and gave their time," he says.
Bose came to the limelight with his production of "Nati Binodini" (1994), which he did for the NSD Repertory Company. He had also directed a few of Utpal Dutt's plays like "Dilli Chalo", "Turup Ka Patta" , and "Sanyasi Ki Talwar". His artistry is further enriched by his training at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts, Sydney, Australia.
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