Sumitkumar Roy and Palash Adhikary create a world of Wonder and Magic

 Sumitkumar Roy and Palash Adhikary create a world of Wonder and Magic

The much-read short story BHUTO by Satyajit Ray was given an outstanding theatre treatment by ‘Kabyakala Manan o Deabantara Arts’ [KMDA] at the AFA.

The art of ventriloquism though is at the centre of the story, the eternal conflict of the old and the new where the old denies any space for the new to breathe, is the piece de resistance with a dollop of Ray-style mystery and a garnishing of his style of comedy gives the story its richness of flavour. And Antara Chatterjee has done a wonderful job in adapting this short story to a full-length drama. Her acumen in this field had been well established in her adaptation of Khaled Hossaini’s classic ‘The Kite Runner’ into the stage idiom. It was also produced by this group about four years back and remains as a magnum opus in Bengali theatre of the recent years.

Chatterjee’s imagination and her power of adaptation has given the play a wider expanse that has very well merged with the Ray story-line. Excepting the initial episode in the introductory scene which seemed utterly irrelevant and which very few of the viewers would care to remember after the play is over, the dramatist steadily builds up the play where the mystery thickens up and the climax is reached in a perfect theatrical style. She very dexterously accelerates the conflict between the protagonist, the greenhorn ventriloquist Naveen and his adversary, the senior Akrur using the change of their respective spaces in the entertainment world. The dialogues apart from the ones one comes across in Ray’s story, have been very well written keeping the comical savor of the Ray-story.

Chatterjee’s script has been superbly translated into its stage version by Sumitkumar Roy. An excellent actor Roy has proved himself also to be a very powerful play-maker. I have had the privilege to witness a few of his works, but I must admit, the present work has put Roy himself in a tight spot, in the sense that he has heightened the bar, no doubt, to a height that would even be a challenge to any seasoned maker. The reader might find this acclaim a bit too pompous, but one has to believe in what one witnesses.

Roy’s mounting of every scene speaks of the amount of thinking he had put in to essay the scenes. He has used the physical space of the stage to portray the conflict part. His use of the door frame is a very effective ingenious theatrical element and somehow becomes a motif sort of, of the clash of the two persons. The use of the flats, too, need to be applauded. He heightens the climactic portions with a crafty design of lights and a sinister soundscape. The flight of the talking doll Bhuto across the stage is a theatrical moment that will remain etched in the minds of the viewers.             

But the whole project could not have taken shape so exquisitely without the outstanding performance of Palash Adhikary, one of the leading ventriloquists of the present time, in the role of Naveen. His execution of this extraordinary art form bowled out the spectators, as expected, lock stock and barrel. But what intrigues one is his expertise in acting both physical as well as vocal, which as a matter of fact was in four different voices. And that too with perfect diction, with pauses and perfect expressions, and to top it all with perfect modulations. The other character of Akrur was done by Abhijit Ghosh.

The lighting design was by Dipankar De, while the sets were done by Debabrata Maity, and the background score was by Partha Pratim Roy. It is needless to mention that these departments were the mainstay of the production. Make-up was by Surajit Pal and dress was by Nabanita Mukherjee Das, though I have some reservation with the look of Akrur. However, a special mention is due for Scenographica (or is it Scenografica?) for the execution of the puppet.

It should be especially reiterated that through theatre like this one, another performing art which is in the endangered list, like that of ventriloquism has been given a space, and that enough is a good reason for ‘KMDA’ to get a standing ovation.

[As a post-script note: From an article by Robert Young, entitled ‘Ray, Ventriloquism and Illusion’, I came to know that it is believed that Ray had seen ‘Dead of Night’, a 1945 anthology of horror movies while in London, and the Michael Redgrave starer of a story of a malevolent ventriloquist and his talking doll Hugo, might have been his inspiration to write Bhuto.]             

However, before ending yet again we stand in reverence to the great man and thank KMDA for providing us with this opportunity.