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It would not be an exaggeration to say that Rabindranath Tagore was one of the greatest Bengali playwrights. Apart from his poems, songs, novels and short stories, Tagore's mastery as a playwright is equally admired. Nearly 40 short and full-length plays by Tagore initiated a new era of Indian theatre.
Tagore's works -- mingling lyrical flow and emotional rhythm -- were unlike previous Bengali plays. Tagore wrote his first play “Valmiki Pratibha” (The Genius of Valmiki) at the age of 20. In 1890, he wrote “Visarjan” (Sacrifice), regarded as his finest drama. His later theatricals such as “Dak Ghar” (The Post Office) explored more philosophical and allegorical themes.
Noted theatre activist and director [of Prachyanat] Azad Abul Kalam's post-modern approach to a Tagore play -- “Raja…Ebong Onnanyo” -- has been much talked about. On the eve of Tagore's 149th birth anniversary, Kalam discussed the Nobel laureate's plays.
“To me Tagore's plays can be categorised into three groups. Apart from his geeti natya (lyrical drama) and nritya natya (dance drama), some of his works are metaphoric,” said Kalam.
“If we consider his works as modern classics then it shouldn't be sacrilegious to experiment or deconstruct them according to contemporary urgency. I'm involved with theatre because I want to see the contemporary society from the viewpoint of the medium. Rabindranath's works are phenomenal in the sense that they haven't lost their appeal as they are and they don't lose their essence when deconstructed,” he added.
Without changing the original plot, Kalam gave the classic “Raja” a new look and tried to portray the ubiquitous King as a metaphor set against the backdrop of a contemporary chaotic world. The production has been both praised and criticised for its radically new outlook in presentation, use of contemporary music composition, dance and multimedia.
“Before Tagore, Indian plays were either melodramatic or based on western plays. Many of the pre-Tagore era plays were based on mythologies that were interpreted from a religious point of view. Tagore changed that trend. Though some of his plays were based on mythical characters, his approach was innovative. Those mythical characters were depicted in a way that's very human,” said Kalam.
Kalam thinks that Tagore's plays will remain relevant because they can meet the need of any society at any time. In this regard, the theatre activist specifically mentioned “Achalayatan”.
“ 'Achalayatan' can be staged whenever, wherever. To give it a contemporary look you don't have to change the storyline. All you have to do is to just change the costumes.”
The director has been contemplating adapting Tagore's dance dramas. “'Chandalika' would be my next project. At present I am studying his dance dramas,” he said.
According to Kalam, “Raktokarobi” and “Achalayatan” are two successful productions of Tagore's plays staged in Bangladesh. “Aly Zaker's direction and Khaled Khan's acting in 'Achalayatan' were tremendous,” he said. Apart from these, Centre for Asian Theatre's “Raja”; Tirjak Natyadal's (Chittagong) “Bishorjon” and Prachayanat's “Raja…Ebong Onnannyo” are other Tagore plays produced in Bangladesh.
He added that of the Indian productions, “Raktakaravi” was a notable experimental work.
“We have to realise that when Tagore's plays are concerned, there's a lot of scope for experimentation. In the west, a lot of experimental works and adaptations are being done on Shakespeare. Compared to that, Tagore remains relatively untouched in the east. Tagore was a progressive individual. In this day and age, how we see, grasp and treat Tagore would be a good theme,” said Kalam.
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