“1971” staged on Humayan Ahmed's birthday in Chittagong

In the play, the performers put in their best to portray the writer's remorse that even 41 years after independence the contributions of unsung heroes go unnoticed.

As part of the birthday celebration of noted litterateur Humayan Ahmed, Anadikalpo, a theatre troupe in the port city, staged an adaptation of his novel “1971” at the Shilpakala Academy Auditorium here on Tuesday evening.
The play, based on a true incident during the Liberation War, features a boy named Rafiq, who was not directly involved in the war but supported the freedom fighters. Rafiq feigned to be a collaborator with the Pakistani Army but in reality was thwarting all their actions against the freedom fighters.
He even torched some houses in his own village so that the villagers were compelled to flee, escaping the wrath of the Pakistani army. When the army found out his true intentions, he was shot dead.
In the play, the performers put in their best to portray the writer's remorse that even 41 years after independence the contributions of unsung heroes like Rafiq go unnoticed and unrecognised.
The play has been directed by Masudur Rahaman. Saifullah Shakeel, Rahul Roy, Ali Reza, Sadia Afreen and Rafsan Galib played different roles.
The set was designed by Shajahan and lighting was done by the director himself.
Noted theatre personality Pradip Dewanjee, in his speech before the play, paid tributes to Humayan Ahmed and praised Anadikalpo for staging the play as a mark of respect to the playwright on his birthday.
This was the second staging of Anadikalpo's 10th drama production which won great applause from a packed audience.