'Rater Otithi' : A satire on corruption

A scene from the play. PHOTO: STAR

Utpal Dutta wrote his play Rater Atithi some 46 years back. However, the work, set against the backdrop of social milieu of Kolkata, still ranks as a social satire on corruption. Be it politics, business, media, literature, even social work, corruption seems to have crept into every sphere of life in the country. Utpal Dutta's Rater Otithi unveils the corruption that prevails.

The presentation style of Dutta's play is highly influenced by the early twentieth century European playwrights such as Tolstoy. It depicts a night when the representatives of civil society gather in a room and the protagonist of the play unveils the dark past of the elites. This style has been one of the major techniques of the twentieth century western social satires like The Power of Darkness and others.

In Dutta's play, the protagonist Kalikinkar sends threatening letters to some high placed to attend a party in the countryside in the darkness of night, where their devious past will be disclosed. And 'theatrically', a group of people including the home minister, a leading businessman, an editor of a leading newspaper and his wife, a zamindar, a women leader, a prominent writer, converge at an unknown place, to hear about their evil past from Kalikinkar, who is a stranger to all of them.

Shafiqul Islam Sohel is the director of Rater Otithi, staged by Theatre Centre at the National Theatre Stage. Sohel's directorial approach is realistic. His handling of 'farces' in serious theatre is appreciable. However, he failed to create the required tension throughout the play. Moreover, an adapted version of the play could have been more effective as a social satire for the contemporary Bangladeshi audience.

Using a few stools and a painted curtain at the backstage, set designer Aminur Rahman Mukul has tried to create the fashionable interiors of a rest house in the countryside. However, the use of a painted curtain at the backstage seems an ornament not a set. There is room for development of Sudip Chakraborty's light design.

Rehana Samdani, in the role of an extravagant woman leader performed boldly. Mahmudul Abedin Sharan and Abdur Rahim Khan Biplab were impressive. The rest of the actors need to develop their skills to perform more credibly on stage.

After a considerable interval, Theatre Centre staged three consecutive shows of Rater Atithi-- one on December 15 and two shows on December 16.