As part of the on going theatre festival to give a hand to theatre activist Jaglul Alam, Nagorik Natyasampradaya staged Chhayanaut at the National Theatre Stage, Shilpakala on February 5.

Actor Rajib De successfully presented the emotions of Manoj Kumar. His transformation from being an ordinary actor to popular hero was remarkable. And Rajib's performance at the end of the story, when another 'hero' takes his position and gets the same reception he got earlier, touched a responsive chord in the audience.

As sub-plot, Utpal Dutt's play satires the scandals of the star world, as well as the lip service of the press to the stars. Farhana Mithu in the role of a Shuchorita, a popular actor who has an extra marital affair with Manoj Kumar, was note-worthy. The Bold performance of Rownak Hassan as Bashak was also impressive. Aly Zaker as producer Binoy Chowdhury and Pantha Shahriar as director Ajit were impressive. However, Jhumu Majumdar failed to present the emotion of Parijat, who has a dark past.

As the director of the play Aly Zaker has created the ambience of a film studio of 1950s. As he is influenced by Shakespearean theatre there was no smooth transition between the acts. Moreover, typical Kolkata dialect has been used.

A platform at the middle of the stage is used as the set. But, it was not clear as to why a red curtain was used at the backstage. General light has been used throughout the play.