Brooding of a theatre enthusiast and a night with M.A.D

During a recent conversation with my grandmother, (a proud north Calcuttan), about the theatre scenario during her days, I was amazed to find out a certain position of the drama in the society, something which I feel I barely experienced after coming over to the city of joy. Her eyes were sparkling and I couldn't help but notice the tinge of joy and nostalgia in her voice while talking about Utpal Dutta and Shombhu Mitra!

"Mainstream and offbeat theatre wasn't just something that was restricted to the elitists, it wasn't necessarily a mode of protest through an underlying satire or a presentation which demanded meticulous scrutiny! Theatre was a very necessary mode of entertainment in our otherwise cumbersome lives, as powerful as  cinema, and more often than not, much more relatable, enjoyable and varied in comparison to the monotonous romantic tragedies or comedies that our mainstream movie house presented!"

The Legend : Shombhu Mitra

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then, Kolkata has been a witness to many changes! From the political shift to the newly emerging IT hub, the spirit of the city remains to  this day very enduring and jubilant! But the receding cultural scenario is something which the soul of city never wanted to part hands with ( "We boasted of the rich cultural efficiency we possessed, whenever our relatives and friends came over from the other big cities of India" ). As a theatre-enthusiast and someone hailing from a very culturally active household, Kolkata was like a paradise to us! I still remember sneaking away with my Aunt to watch "Fataru" (by Debesh Chattyopadhyay) during her marriage, enjoying a fantastic couple of hours only to be followed by  horrendous rebukes later! Naturally, when the city adopted me as one of their own, we came over with huge expectations, only to be greeted by a dismal state of reality! I do not like to stereotype so I would rather settle for the word "Majority", look towards theatre as only a form of intellectual upliftment, something which most are abhorrent about! On most occasions, whenever I ask my friends out for a play, I'm greeted by "Na bhai, antlamo poshaina college er por"( Please bro, It's not feasible to indulge in pseudo-intellectualism post weary college hours) in comparison to "Yes man, First day, first show" when it comes to a movie. And although Theatre does have a commanding grasp over the moral, and  erudite development of a character, it's pretty ludicrous to generalise the performing arts in such harrowing boxes! Yes sir, a theatre can be as commercial and enjoyable as a mainstream Hollywood comedy and the slapstick portion is relented frequently! After a very tiresome day at school or college, a hundred bucks spent on a good play will certainly leave you entertained and satisfied for the worth of your money, just like any other mode of entertainment imparts!

Come on, we spend so much on our cigarettes, coffee, tea and other forms of very necessary boosters to cheer us after a very exhausting day! Then why not on a play once in a fortnight? Trust me, unlike your myriad forgettable days, this evening will stay in your memory, AND ITS DEFINITELY NOT THROUGH A BOMBARDMENT OF MORAL LECTURES AND POLITICAL propaganda's!

 Maybe on this quest to annihilate the contemporary social stigma, theatre troupes like Mad About Drama, has set on ("We believe in providing an overall experience rather than just staging a play" in the words of one of the founders of M.A.D, Soumya Mukherji)! "Codename SRK" is one such play which offers you the best of theatre without necessarily showing off the layers of moral enhancement (something which has taken the city's theatre to the dogs). It's a mainstream comedy, much like your entertaining Bollywood Masalas ( except the tomfoolery, there are no stale jokes and forced fits of laughter to bore you with ).

"R. F***king Tagore is the SRK of poetry"
Meet Rahul, Kunal and Siddharth, from the left

 Siddharth, Rahul and Kunal (S.R.K) are three aspiring filmmakers from Kolkata who have taken up shelter in the city of dreams, Mumbai itself, and are looking to make a breakthrough in the cinematic universe! It's a story which takes us through the journey of these three ambitious and sometimes doltish characters who manage to impart a belly laugh to each and every member of the audience for the entire length of the play! With the "suggestion" of Mogambo D. Costa this group sets out to convince a producer to take up their plot of two poets contriving to kill Rabindranath Tagore and turn it into a movie! Some humorous digs at certain "notable" personalities like the evergreen Bobby Deol, filmmaker Ram Gopal Verma  later, they still find themselves nowhere in site of luck! That's when Mogambo D.Costa reveals his true identity, and the trio is shocked to find out that it is the same person who they had verbally abused as a waiter initially!

Meet Mogambo D. Costa

He comes up with a brilliant idea of a movie plot for them, and asks them to execute it in the most eyebrow-raising fashion possible! Kunal and Rahul who were very cynical to pay the prize money to Mogambo to get their things done, later join hands with Siddharth in breaking their fixed deposits and transferring a lakh to Mogambo's hands! In the middle of S,R,K's notion that their lady luck was finally smiling on them, all hell breaks loose when Mogambo absconds with the money, leaving the trio his present (a revolver) with the suggestion to use it to attract their much needed popularity!

"Meri Tulsi Jaisi Pavitra man me ek Prashna ayi"
You know on whom the dig is on, don't you?

"Orphanage High-Five"
Find out more about the new found brotherhood when the play hits the theatre next

Much like M.A.D's usual style, the climax is something which not only blows off your mind, but also leaves a harrowing yet hilarious impact on the audience! Like Soumya Mukherji had promised us, Codename SRK is not just a show, it's an experience, one which talks about the aspirations many of us have towards cinema, and the ludicrous yet sad reality associated with it! It's a full fledged Bollywood comedy with its theatrical improvisations even with an item number thrown in between. Kunal's doltish behaviour, Rahul's tragic hero act and Siddharth's emotional outbursts were splendidly portrayed and was never at one point, unentertaining for the audience! Harsh Mahendru's short yet prominent impact through the role of Raj, was well felt and was eye-catching to say the least! So what happens when The Hero meets his fans, what happens when they collide in the same quest for success? Find out for yourself when the play hits the theatre next!

S,R,K : In the quest for success

Harsh Mahendru as Raj and Sharmistha Pandey as Anjali

Ram Gopal Verma (in the centre) played by Romit Roy

Out of the many other theatre groups trying to make an impact, Sixth of April was memorable for one such group Stage-Struck as it was their debut show! It is of immense pleasure that the youth theatre scene in Kolkata is slowly developing and transforming, with so many people as a part of this metamorphosis. After months of dedication and hardwork, their play "Astrologically", an adaptation of R.K.NARAYAN'S famous short story "An Astrologer's Day" was presented to the audience! They had their shortcomings and yes they have some improvements to make, but yet they managed to leave a happy impact over their spectators. Here's wishing a lot of luck to these young and enthusiastic group of thespians!

A snap from "Astrologically" presented by StageStruck

The position of the youth theatre circuit in Kolkata needs to develop even more, and one glimpse at groups like M.A.D will make a theatre enthusiast confident that the batton is in the right hands! Team ExPRESS will be there for the emerging creativity in the town next time too! We hope to see you there, it's never too late to start, you know? And since hashtags have emerged to be the most prominent impact-makers in recent times, I'll just add a few hashtags to make my point more effective :- 

#SupportGoodTheatre 

#PromoteGoodTheatre

#BeaPartOfTheChange


Event reported by :- Anubhav Chakraborty, Shreya Basak and Swagato Basak.