Event Info
- Language: Bengali
- City / State: Kolkata
- Directed By: Sujan Mukhopadhyay
- Produced By: Chetana
Gopal Ure & Co.
This play takes off cleverly from ‘Bidyasundar’, a classic in Bengali literature, considered an ancient and well-known text of erotic love as well as a prayer for Ma Chandi, the goddess. A story retold with drama, dance and song, it conveys the powerful message that an artist and their soul cannot be sold.
This play is based on ‘Bidyasundar Palagan’, the middle part of Annadamongal Kabyo written by Bharatchandra Roy. ‘Bidyasundar’, a love saga of Bidya and Sundar (a classic in Bengali literature), is considered an ancient well-known text of erotic love as well as a prayer for Ma Chandi, the goddess.
In this play, the plot is twisted within a play-within-play style such that the manager-director Gopal is in rehearsal with a crew, which is promoted by a zamindar, in colonial Bengal. The crew is not getting their remuneration and are exploited by the zamindar who sees women sex-objects. The play depicts how actors can protest against their ruler-promoter-producer while in rehearsal. This is a story retold with drama, dance and song, based on ‘Bengali Palagan (folk song of Bengal)’ and using tappa in a vibrant and candid scenario. In the end, the actors and Gopal reject domination by the producer. The ultimate message is that the power of an artist and their soul cannot be sold.
ON STAGE (CAST )
Gopal : Sujan Mukhopadhyay
Taranga / Malini : Nibedita Mukhopadhyay
Narasundar : Tarun Bhattacharyya
Chandu Kapten/Virsingha : Susovan Guha
Pyalaram/Sundar : Raju Bera
Nepal/Prahari : Rajat Narayan Bhattacharya
Bechu/Mantri : Debashish Naskar
Motilal/Gangavat : Sayan Maji
Sahadeb/Kotal : Biswajit Nayak
Panchu/Prahari : Prateek Banerjee
Gomosta : Parag Roy
Sashi/ Vidya : Anandarupa Chakraborty
Jhinge/Sulochona : Rupsha Bhattacharya
Penchi/Chapala : Averi Nath
Sachi/Rani : Ruma Bakhuli
Potli/Vamini : Payel Biswas
CREW
Light : Soumen Chakraborty
Music- Arun Mukhopadhyay & Sujan Mukhopadhyay
Set-Making- Bilu Dutta
Musician : Subir Sanyal, Nirmalya Pal, Diptesh Mukherjee
Make-up : Ayon Ghosh
Gopal is someone who comes from Orissa to survive in 18th-century Calcutta. He becomes a famous actor-singer with the help of a zamindar (landlord) and becomes widely known as Gopal Ure (a person from Orissa). This fictitious play takes a character from history and creates a musical journey with the help of the play-within-play technique, which attracted me most as director.
In the play, on the one hand, a rehearsal is on for a love-saga under the direction of Gopal, and on the other, the zamindar is shown as an oppressive capitalist. All the performers of Gopal Ure and the Company are waiting for their salary, but the lustful zamindar has always been in a mood to destroy the rehearsal. Finally, the play ends in a protest against the zamindar’s destructive attitude towards art - an act of solidarity to save our culture and resurrect our roots. That is why this musical is so relevant in present times too. I directed this play in an open ‘Pala Gan’ style (folk song of Bengal) to recreate the ambience of 18th-century Bengal.