THEATRE
The
advent of Bengali theatre may be dated back to 1831, when
Prasanna Kumar Thakur established the 'Hindu Rangamanch'
at Calcutta and staged Wilson's English translation of Bhavabhuti's
Sanskrit drama 'Uttar Ramacharitam'.
In the initial days, Bengali theatre was influenced to some
extent by ‘Yatra’ (folk plays acted on open stage).
During
the early years, themes related to the society, religion,
traditions and customs formed the major part of the contents
of the plays.
After that, patriotism, horror of Bengal famine, aftermath
of both World War and trauma of partition and riots in the
post-Independence era found emotive expressions in Bengali
theatre.
Bengali theatre continued its journey through 'Kirtivilas'
of Yogendra Chandra Gupta,'Bhadrarjuna' of Taracharan,'Kulin
Kula Sarvaswa' of
Ramanarayana Tarkaratna and'Neel Darpan' of Deenbandhu Mitra.
Social dramas of Girish Chandra Ghosh, historical dramas
of D.L.Roy and artistic dramas of Rabindranath Tagore continued
to reach up to the stage of realistic dramas and marked
the beginning of the parallel theatre.
But it was Shombhu Mitra and Utpal Dutt who can be credited
with having given Modern Bengali theatre a thrust and injecting
new life into the existing traditions. They were the true
inheritors of the great theatre tradition began by Sisir
Kumar Bhaduri and Bijon Bhattacharya.
The famous actor and playwright Girishchandra Ghosh, one
of the pioneers of Bengali theatre, in his plays "Siraj-ud-daula"
and "Mirkashim" presented Muslim characters as
patriotic nationalist leaders equally respected by Hindus
and Muslims.
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Another famous playwright and poet Dijendralal Roy, in his
play "Mebar Patan" (The Fall of Mewar), set a bright
example of Hindu-Muslim amity through the relation between
Amar Singh, a Hindu prince and Mahabat Khan, a converted Muslim.
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Ritwik Ghatak,
the famous playwright and actor and film director wrote "Dalil"
(The Deed) in 1951 wherein the people living in East and West
Bengal feel sad and agitated because their motherland has
been partitioned.
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The famous playwright and actor Utpal Dutt wrote "Itihasher
Kathgoray" (On the Derk of History) in 1965 wherein Dutt
shows that communal disbelief and hatred generated by the
outbreak of War between India and Pakistan gradually weaken
and fade away
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The legend, Shambhu Mitra and his immensely
talented wife Tripti Mitra went on to notch
many successful productions for Bohurupee, a group formed
by them, including Dashchakra, Raktakarabi, Galilieo and Chand
Baniker Pala. Today their equally talented daughter Saonli
Mitra is carrying on the production for this group.
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Bengal also had the likes of Ajitesh Bandopadhyay
who founded Bohurupee and the great Badal Sircar,
whose plays like Evam Indrajit, continue to fascinate the
Indian psyche. But that was Bengali theatre.
Even Hindi theatre flourished in Bengal under the likes
of Shyamanad Jalan, Pratibha
Agarwal and Usha Ganguli,
Anamika, Padatik and Rangkarmee (of Rudra Prasad
Sen Gupta) continue even today to provide thought
provoking fare to the theatre-going public of Bengal.
They
may not be titans but their contribution to the keeping
alive the vibrant tradition of theatre in Bengal is worth
accolades.
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