Dhaka Drama Festival 2004

Zeroing into the inherent oppressive tendency of human beings

The play was staged by Nagarik Natyasampradaya on July 14 at the Experimental Theatre Stage as part of the drama festival arranged by BGTF.

Buddhadev Basu has adapted Kalshondhya from 'Maushol' part of the epic Mahabharata. The legends of the play like Krishna, Arjun and others are not mere mythological characters rather they are portrayed as warlords.

Through the legends, the playwright has successfully portrayed a realistic picture of the chaotic world. Buddhadev's Kalshondhya is the natural-realistic play in which he has shown the inherent oppressive tendency of human beings and the fall of the warlords as well.

Buddhadev's play has poetic quality. He has used flowery language for the dialogue of the characters to portray the richness of the legend.

Director Khaled Khan has handled the theme of the play deftly. He has successfully presented the vulgarity, war and the prophecy of the gods and goddesses. His composition of war scenes and the comic scenes were artistic and enjoyable. He has used artificial smoke on the stage to indicate the arrival of Krishna. Moreover, his handling of the flashback scene when Gandhari curses Krishna and Arjun for killing the Kaurav heroes, violating the law of war, was enjoyable.

Rommyo Rahim's set is simple but can symbolically represent the theme of the play. The ash colour of the set successfully conveys the chaotic as well as the sad environment of the post war condition of a place. He has used thrust in the proscenium stage.

Nasirul Haque Khokon has once again proved his credentials as a contemporary light designer. His design could maintain all the requirements for a quality light design. Moreover, his colour effects on the cyclorama were excellent.

The teamwork of the performers was up to the mark. Rajib Dey as Krishna out performed the others. However, during the soliloquy at the final scene, Gazi Rakayat's over-acting was a major flaw.

Ultimately, this show was more polished than the earlier shows of Kalshondhya.

Masum Reza:'I have tried to give a universal effect to my adaptation of the epic Mahabharata'
Famous playwright Masum Reza has earned popularity as a TV as well as stage dramatist. The regular member of Desh Natak, Masum said, 'In the festival my group is going to stage my play Nittopuran based on the Indian epic Mahabharata. During adaptation of the play, I have tried to give it a universal effect.'

On his adaptation process Masum said, 'In the Mahabharata, I think, only Eklavya has a heroic quality. In the epic, Draupadi never meets Eklavya. To create a new crisis I have adapted the play to focus on the love and class conflict between low cast Eklavya and high cast Draupadi.'

Masum is appreciative of drama festivals. In the ongoing Dhaka Drama Festival 2004 arranged by BGTF, Masum Reza says he enjoyed the plays Hat Hadai, a Dhaka Theatre production and Nagarik's production Kalshondhaya.

Ershad Kamol