Theatre staged their new productionMadhoviat the Mahila Samity Mancha recently as a part of the drama festival arranged by ITI of Bangladesh. Famous American poet Adrienne Rich in her poem, "Diving into the Wreck", has proved that in world's mythology dominating males and gods have oppressed women to fulfill their desires. This is reflected in many stories of the Hindu mythological epicThe MahabharataandMadhobi's story is no exception. Women are daughters or wives. What is their own identity in society? Are they born only to perform duties and satisfy the males?Madhavi, the Hindi play, by Bhisham Sahni confronts these questions. Her father ,Yayati, to prove himself as the greatest philanthropist in the world sacrifices his daughter Madhavi to Galav. On the other hand Galav, only to collect 800 horses sells his wife to three kings so that he can pay his mentor's dues to his guru Vishwamitra. Even Vishwamitra oppresses Madhavi to some extent. No one cares about her emotions. Ashis Goswami translated the Hindi play, with its philosophical touch into Bangla.As a director, Ramendu Majumdar has been traditional in his approach and nothing new is added to the play. However, through a story teller he has successfully unfolded the story of the play. But, more compositions could be applied to create the dramatic sequences.
Mustafa Monwar's set design is simple but artistic. It could symbolically portray the king's court but could not portray the aashrom (temple).
The best part of the show was Nasirul Haque Khokon's light designing. He could symbolically express the emotions of the artistes through colour effects.
As a storyteller famous artist Ferdausi Majumdar proved her mastery towards the end.. Adullah Al Mamun performed well. Joglul Alam's performance had a successful comic approach. Traupa Majumdar was promosing as the protagonist of the play.
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