The Plays
Samjhouta | March 2, 2012, 7:30 pm, Kamani Auditorium
Nominated for: Best Play, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male)
Directed by: Praveen Kumar Gunjan
Produced by: The Fact Rangamandala
Language: Hindi
Duration: 1hr 10min
Samjhouta presents the world as circus and showcases a story of young man who is helpless in the circumstances and situations around him. The search for a job in old traditional way, the usual pain of running from one office to another highlights the play. He confronts the harsh reality of today –the changing face of today’s man, where the pain and sorrows of the clown are portrayed as a source of amusement and entertainment through colorful face, clothes and gestures. Sometimes he is ready to compromise even with his own ideals and thoughts for his success or to be alive. In this blind race of Survival, Samjhouta is an attempt to reveal the hard realities of life.
Director’s Note
Muktibodh is my favorite writer and Samjhouta appealed me due to the uniqueness and contemporariness. It was its power and structure that evolved into this performance in a solo musical narrative form. With the help of classical-traditional story telling style and theatrical devices, the story is performed as a modern and contemporary theatrical performance piece. Here the actor is not behaving like a tool but a bridge between the audience and the content of the story.
Nominees:
Praveen Kumar Gunjan Best Director
Praveen is an alumnus of the NSD with a specialization in Design and Direction and has worked as a director, light designer and acting instructor. He is the Founder-Director of The Fact Rangmandal and has directed several plays like Macbeth, Andhayug, Men without Shadow, A Midsummer Night Dream, Hanush, Roshomon etc. He has participated in National-International theatre festivals as a director and has worked with several renowned actors, directors and theatre practitioners from India and abroad. He has been selected for Bhikhari Thakur Rang Samman, by State Government of Bihar for his contribution in theatre.
Manwendra Kumar Tripathy Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male)
Manwendra Kumar Tripathy is an eminent and versatile theatre personality from Bihar. Starting his career in performing arts and media in 1998, he completed his diploma in acting from National School of Drama, New Delhi in 2010. He has worked with eminent theatre personalities of India and abroad, has trained in various Martial Art and various traditional dance forms. He has developed his own style of singing because of his unique voice.
Cast & Credit
On stage
Performance: Manwendra Kumar Tripathy
Chorus Gaan: Chandan Vats, Lal Babu, Chandan Kumar, Awadh Kumar Thaku, Pankaj Gautam
Harmonium: Manoj Kumar
Instrument: Abdhesh Paswan
Off Stage
Light and Sets Design: Pravin Kumar Gunjan
Music Director: Sanjay Upadhyay
Music Conductor: Abdhesh Paswan
Sound Design: Anjali Patil
Sound Operation: Chintu kumar
Story: Gajanan madhav muktibodh
Dramatisation: Suman kumar
