This Bengali play in Andheri shines light on present through historical lens

Indias social movements have always been interlinked with the arts It is no surprise then that one of the earliest legal cases of censorship was placed on a theatrical production that almost spurred civil unrest in Bengal in the late 1800s For Amatya Goradia writerdirector of the play 1876 it was the captivating blend of history drama and a resonance in current society that drew him to the story The play will premiere the first show of its opening leg in Andheri todayAmatya GoradialdquoAs a writer I am always on the lookout for stories A year ago I was reading up on court cases that emerged from the urge to write a legal drama I was curious about laws that cover the arts itrsquos how I learnt about the Dramatic Performances Act DPA of 1876rdquo 32yearold Goradia explainsAn alumnus of Mithibai College he grew up watching rehearsals and reading sessions of Gujarati theatre from his father theatremaker Jayant Goradia His first break was at the Thespo Festival in 2013 with another historical play EQ based on the life and times of Albert EinsteinThe history of the 1876 act he shares is a microcosm of the state of Bengal during the late 19th century The trigger to it all was Dinabandhu Mitrarsquos work Nil Darpan ldquoIt was a simple play that laid bare the oppression of the Indigo Commission on the farmers of Bengal It was direct and scathing on the governmentrdquo he reveals Naturally the play formed the core of his upcoming productionGoradia instructs actorsWhile Nil Darpan was in production in 1861 it caught the attention of the British colonists only after it was reportedly translated into English by illustrious Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt and published by Reverend James Long Staged during the Indigo Revolt it created a stir that resulted in Longrsquos imprisonment and eventually to founding of the first commercial theatre company in India National Theatre in 1872 ldquoIn fact the first commercial production by the National Theatre was Nil Darpan mdash almost a repartee to the British Empirerdquo says the directorldquoIt is even more relevant when you remember that over the years many theatre makers such as Vijay Tendulkar and even lokshahirs such as Namdeo Dhasal have faced cases and imprisonments Any theatre or performance that provokes the audience to react or act political or apolitical against power is often charged by lawrdquo he points outDinabandhu Mitra Pic CourtesyWikimedia CommonsFinding the story was the beginning ldquoIt was tough work to source details since little was available in terms of data or background I explored the nature of the case and its resonance with current society rather than history through the productionrdquo he shares adding ldquoThe history featured in this play emerges through the stagecraft mdash costumes characters and the diction Since itrsquos set in Bengal we worked on our diction so we could include Bengali in the dialoguesrdquo he revealsThe play debuts today Goradia is confident of a good run ldquoWe are hoping to return to Prithvi in June this year before taking it to other venues The idea is to keep performing as much as we can and wherever we canrdquoOn Today 9 pm Tomorrow 6 pm and 9 pmAt Veda Kunba Theatre Four Bungalows Andheri WestLog on to inbookmyshowcomCost Rs 250 onwards