Fusion Era

For more than a decade,Bijon Mondal has been living with Dharamvir Bharatis play Andha Yug. All this while,Mondal has been trying to plumb its intensity and figure out a different approach to stage the play that has been directed by stalwarts like Ebrahim Alkazi and Satyadev Dubey.

For more than a decade,Bijon Mondal has been living with Dharamvir Bharatis play Andha Yug. All this while,Mondal has been trying to plumb its intensity and figure out a different approach to stage the play that has been directed by stalwarts like Ebrahim Alkazi and Satyadev Dubey. Its only a year back that the young theatre artist came up with a fresh way of presenting this landmark Hindi play. Thats when the music band Translucent came on board and Bharatis work was repackaged as Andha Yug-A Fusion.

Translucent has given music to all the 15 songs in the play, says Mondal,who has directed the play and is acting in it as Ashwatthama. The fusion is an attempt to make the songs and the text accessible to the young generation,which is not well versed with Indian mythology. For those who are seeking more novelties in the 1954 play,Mondal has roped in Manoj Mourya to do live paintings during each show. As the play progresses,Mourya will paint his impressions of that days mood and intensity. It will be a very spontaneous act, the director says.

Andha Yug,which is known to be a powerful metaphorical play,is the tale of the last day of the Mahabharat battle. The 18-day-long bloodbath gives the play,written soon after Partition,a perfect ground for meditation on the politics of violence and aggressive selfhood. Given the subject of the play,Mondal is sceptical of being able to draw young theatregoers. But Krunal Shah of Translucent is hopeful that their music will do the trick. We composed each song keeping the scene in mind. This apart,we are also concentrating on live background music, says Shah. Though the highbrow Hindi writing posed a challenge,the band overcame that to liven up the otherwise dark play. But the music very much maintains the feel of the war play and aggression, Shah adds.

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Even after all these moves,Mondal still wanted to check if he was on the right track. So,he asked the late playwrights wife,Pushpa Bharti,to attend the rehearsals and give her feedback. Since she is happy with Mondals approach,his confidence has soared. Next,he is waiting for the audiences verdict. The shows of Andha Yug,which opened on Tuesday evening at Prithvi Theatre,will be on there till Saturday.

We will think of fresh dates for the play after gauging the audiences reaction, Mondal says.

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Fusion Era

For more than a decade,Bijon Mondal has been living with Dharamvir Bharatis play Andha Yug. All this while,Mondal has been trying to plumb its intensity and figure out a different approach to stage the play that has been directed by stalwarts like Ebrahim Alkazi and Satyadev Dubey.

For more than a decade,Bijon Mondal has been living with Dharamvir Bharatis play Andha Yug. All this while,Mondal has been trying to plumb its intensity and figure out a different approach to stage the play that has been directed by stalwarts like Ebrahim Alkazi and Satyadev Dubey.