Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 4 Num 237 Fri. January 23, 2004  
   
Culture


Theatre
Shat Ghater Kanakori
A political satire


Theatre displayed their most popular play Shat Ghater Kanakori at Mohila Shomity Mancha on January 20, as part of the festival to observe the 70th birth anniversary of Momtazuddin Ahmed, one of the best playwrights in the country.

The theatrical group always aims at growing awareness among people through their satirical plays. The play Shat Ghater Kanakori by Momtajuddin Ahmed is a sharp criticism of the dishonest politicians whose self-interest results in corrupting the whole society.

The play is set against the unstable condition of the country during the late '80s when the mass reacted and came out on the street to initiate the anti-autocratic movement. The play portrays factual stories of those days when the leviathan ruler bought over many student leaders, politicians, intellectuals and even a few journalists to work in his favour. Through some flash-back scenes based on the events of '71, our Liberation War, the playwright also shows that some corrupt leaders always exchange their morality for money and go against their own community.

In Momtazuddin's play, we get some allegorical stories of those controversial leaders who worked for the Pakistani regime going against the Bangladeshi people and were later on benefited also by the Bangladeshi military rulers. A university teacher, for example, unfolds the suffering of his mother during the Liberation War. He tells that an influential Moulana, well known for his deeds, took his mother to the military camp. A character comes into the scene and reveals the identity of the Moulana who became a minister later on, after the Liberation War.

The dramatist also depicts the power of the hypocritical religious leaders like Peer.

As a director, Momtazuddin Ahmed cannot be called proficient enough as much as he is as a playwright. He is rather traditional. He seems to have been very much influenced by German Bertolt Brecht's alienation technique.

Renowned theatre personality Jamil Ahmed's set design is simple but symbolic enough to suit the theme of the play. However, as the light designer, Jamil Ahmed, could not show his mastery. His design had a lack of visibility, which is the basic requirement for a light design: as a result, the performers' faces were not much visible to the audience.

The players of Theatre could not satisfy the expectations of the audience. Although the performers have been involved in theatre for quite sometime now, their performance failed to do justice to the excellent script.

Picture
A scene from the play Shat Ghater Kanakori