Shesh Rokkha

Photo: Star

Confusion and misperception may be one of the oldest and most-used premises for writing comedy, but when done well, even that can strike the right chords and make for great humour. And when it's done by a wordsmith of Rabindranath Tagore's stature, it can be downright hilarious.
Natyajan has been in the country's theatre scene for a decade and a half, and has delivered some good productions. Tagore's “Sheshrokkha”, its ninth, is one of the more-well known of them. It returned the play to the stage on Tuesday at the Experimental Theatre Hall of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.
The story is of three pairs of young men and women: Kamol, Indu and Khantomoni paired up against Binod, Godai and Chandrakanta. Chandra is already married, and assists his poet friend Binod to get hitched to a girl; their friend Godai, a medical student, is skeptical of romanticism at first, but falls for Indu, but mistakes her for Kadombini of the wealthy Chowdhury family. Indu, meanwhile, is misinformed of Godai's name as Lalit. Binod is married to Kamol but their marriage is on the rocks soon. Elsewhere, Godai's father Shibcharan discusses his son's marriage with old friend Nibaran's daughter Indu, but they both disagree about it initially, not knowing each other's true identity. Through some drama, Kamol and Binod reunite, as do Chandra and Khantomoni after a brief separation, while the confusion clears between Indu and Godai and they get married too. To cap it off, the actual Lalit agrees to marry the actual Kadombini, bringing a happy ending.
The script and dialogues are what the play stands on: Even when not delivered top-notch, the extravagant expressions and brilliant wordplay provide laughter in abundance. Of the central cast, a returning-to-stage Chitralekha Guha (as Khantomoni) is flawless, while her other female co-stars – her daughter Arnila (as Indu) and Putul (as Kamol) aren't as steady; they come through often, but fall flat in places. The entire male cast hold their own reasonably well, with Sohan (as Godai) doing particularly well with his physical comedy and Liton (as Chandrakanta) using vocal tone and comic timing to deliver the goods. Veteran Tabibul Islam (as Shibcharan) stands out with his body language and incredibly natural dialogue display.
Mohsina Akhter's direction ticks most boxes on the list, as does the art direction by Uttam Guha. The set is simple and uncluttered, the lighting and use of props are also neat, but the music and choreography are where the play stumbles a little. Any Rabindranath play has the scope to fly through the roof using music and dance, but “Shesh Rokkha” misses that trick. The background score is unimaginative and not thorough at all, while the solitary substantial choreography piece at the end is also somewhat lazy. On the whole, though, the elements of romance and comedy are both portrayed sincerely, and it's the kind of play at which the audience can just lie back and enjoy, without feeling too indulged.