The voice of a woman
A prostitute by birth, one of the first women in theatre by profession. Capturing the life and times of controversial 19th century Bengali actress Binodini, can be a steep challenge for even the most seasoned theatre director. Dhaka Theatre's Nasiruddin Yousuff deploys the soliloquy technique to depict Binodini's complex personality in his eponymous play. On the contrary, well known Indian theatre personality Amal Allana in her “Nati Binodini” uses a multi-layered approach where action shifts between the aged Binodini and four other actresses who depict her early days.
“I didn't want the play to be a linear narrative. I wanted it to have jagged edges, much like Binodini herself,” says Amal, chairperson of the prestigious New Delhi-based National School of Drama.
No wonder a packed Delhi audience watched spellbound as the recent Theatre and Television Associates production “Nati Binodini” unravelled. Based on the actress' autobiography “Aamar Katha”, the play begins on a sombre note, as the old Binodini, the narrator, addresses her wheelchair bound mentor Girish Ghosh. Questioning her very existence, she bewails her fate, her loss of faith in humanity and the Almighty. She requests him to be the sounding board for an autobiography which she is writing.
Binodini's story could be that of many an exploited woman in our society. Can one remain unmoved as the young Binodini clutches on to theatre as a lifeline that will rescue her from the degradation of joining the sex trade like the other women in her impoverished family? Or her plight as she is forced to be a kept woman when even the theatre fails to provide her a living?
In a memorable scene, an anguished Binodini falls at her feet in desperation and rails against society for creating prostitutes. “Stop this theatre!” she cries at one point, even as the audience shifts uneasily when the lines of stage acting and reality get blurred.
Though the epilogue shows her painfully recalling the circumstances under which she left the theatre, she has a spiritual awakening which enables her to rise Phoenix-like from the ashes of despair. She has come to terms with her tumultuous life.
Amal believes “Nati Binodini” is extremely relevant even today.
“ The right of women to voice what they really think is unacceptable to a large section of our society,” she says. Scripting the play was a major challenge, she adds, since the actors were roped in to write the play along with her.
After many stops within India, “Nati Binodini” is all set to travel to other parts of the world. In March next year it will be staged at the Kennedy Centre in Washington as part of the Festival of India, followed by Poland and other European countries.
Amal expresses the hope that “Nati Binodini” will get an invite from Bangladesh as well.
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