Not too many Odia plays, in recent times, have drawn the viewers to auditoriums like Ahe Nilashaila did last week. Adapted from Nilashaila and Niladri Bijaya – two famous novels of eminent author late Surendra Mohanty, the play was staged for four days to a packed Rabindra Mandap auditorium in Bhubaneswar. In fact, theatre lovers had to scramble for complimentary passes as all the tickets were sold out on BookMyShow shortly after the opening of ticket sale.
At a time when watching free drama shows is a common practice in Odisha, the resounding commercial success of this historic play baffled even the critics. Be it aggressive marketing strategy or the strong backing of the sponsors, the event has definitely compelled the theatre fraternity of Odisha to sit up and take note.
So, the resounding commercial success of the play has rekindled a debate whether the glorious days of ticketed theatre shows, when fans had to stand in queues to buy tickets, will make a comeback.
Summing up the sentiment, Dhirendra Nath Mallick, the founder of Satabdira Kalakar, one of the oldest theatre troupes of Bhubaneswar, believes that it may rejuvenate the theatre scene in Odisha.
The scene is quite encouraging and mood upbeat. But can it be sustained for long or this unprecedented success will remain just a flash in the pan. Here’s what some eminent theatre personalities of the state have to say on the issue. Excerpts:
‘Trend must continue
to become a tradition’
Eminent theatre personality Anant Mahapatra, who earlier had made an attempt to revive professional theatre setting up Utkal Rangamanch Trust(URT), said, “It is certainly a good sign that an Odia play was staged to a packed auditorium for four days in a row. Though I haven’t seen the show, unfortunately I got to know from my troupe’s artistes that they had gone on complimentary passes. So, I am not sure whether the viewers who watched the play were the true theatre lovers or they were just the invitees of the media house. No one will be happier than me if people have really bought tickets to watch the show. I have never staged a free show in my life. Even my family members, former Odisha CM Nandini Satpathy and Union Defence Minister VK Krishna Menon had to buy tickets to watch my dramas in the 1960s.”
Theatre can’t survive unless viewers buy tickets to watch the shows, says Mahapatra.
Asked his opinion if Ahe Nilashaila has set a trend, he said, “If it’s a trend, then it has to be repetitive, it has to be a continuous process. With just four successful shows, it will be more like a Yatra than a tradition of a theatre. The tradition of a theatre is not just a couple of shows, it at least needs to have 10-20 shows.
“I used to have 30 to 40 shows of one play at URT then only I would start the next one. I did about 20 plays for URT and the shows of the play used to run at least for 22 days and maximum 44 days. If they say the play has set a trend then the trend must continue to become a tradition.”
‘Enough of free theatre shows’
Haren Sahoo, president of Odisha Natya Sangh, a confederation of nearly 150 theatre troupes of Odisha, said, “The play has certainly caused a stir among the theatre community here. But there are quite a few factors which have gone in its favour.”
“First, we have to accept that Lord Jagannath is the biggest brand of Odisha. Anything connected to him is to taste success. So, when he is one of the characters along with Gajapati, it was bound to click. Sponsorship is the second and most important factor that ensures success. If a troupe gets such a big sponsor, it can spend liberally to improve the production quality which has happened in this case. So, big sponsors, corporate houses should also come forward to promote Odia plays by supporting other theatre troupes. They are always welcome. The last factor but not the least, is the role of the media. The play got wide publicity for the past several months in print, electronic and social media platforms which generated tremendous interest among the viewers. Therefore, the media should come onboard and promote the Odia plays,” added Sahoo.
However, the veteran director admitted that this play has forced the theatre community to introspect the way plays are being designed and presented to the audience at the moment.
“Ahe Nilashaila proved to be an eye opener. Recently the members of Odisha Natya Sangh held an urgent meeting to discuss the issue. It was unanimously decided that now onwards every troupe would sell tickets to support the artistes and improve the quality of plays. There is also another reason behind taking this decision. Earlier, the state government used to offer 50 per cent discount on auditorium rent to the troupes for staging Odia plays and the practice has been stopped since the online booking system was introduced. While giving the discount, the government had put a clause that the troupes can’t sell tickets. With no respite being offered by the government, we have decided to sell tickets to meet the expenditure and expand the canvas,” signed off Sahoo.
‘We need to expand our vision’
Asked about the secret behind the success of Ahe Nilashaila, play’s director Lala Biren Ray said “It was a combination of many things. But creative freedom is the most important factor that worked for this project. We had a 70-member crew and rehearsed for nearly six months and the result was there for everyone to see. The producer has not compromised on any count as the goal was to present a neat and entertaining production to the audience as they were to pay for that.”
Lala, a former secretary of Odisha Natya Sangh, went on to add, “Another important factor was the subject. Many of us knew about the Patali of the Trinity at Chilika but they were not aware about the circumstances under which the Gajapati had taken this decision. The visuals of idols being taken on hand-drawn carts to the seashore struck an immediate chord with the viewers which contributed to the success. Many people in our fraternity, who don’t consider me a good director, had to eat their words after this play. The producers are planning for repeat shows of this play as they want more and more people to know about the rich history and heritage of Odisha.”
Now people associated with Odia theatre need to expand their vision and think big which is very important to execute such great ideas, he concluded.
‘Nila Shaila was dramatised earlier also’
Uttar Purush is the one of the oldest theatre troupes in Bhubaneswar which has groomed many theatre personalities over the years under the tutelage of stalwarts like Asim Basu, Bijoy Mishra, Rai Charan Das, Sarat Mohanty, Gourishyam Mohapatra and many others.
The troupe’s present secretary Debadutta Pati, also an actor and drama director, was not ready to accept that Ahe Nilashaila has set trends as such.
“This was not the first time that tickets were sold for a drama show, as claimed by a section of spirited fans across platforms. Satabdira Kalakar, an old troupe of Bhubaneswar had been selling tickets till 2006. Similarly, eminent theatre directors Simanta Mohanty of Sabuja Natya Sanstha, Surya Mohanty of Mukti Theatre, Anant Mahapatra of Utkal Rangamanch Trust and several other groups still sell tickets for their shows. Asim Basu, one of the founder members and president of our troupe, had never been for free shows.
“Unfortunately, no troupe could give this kind of publicity due to lack of resources for which they were not noticed. Playwright Bijay Satpathy also adapted the same novel of Surendra Mohanty and Uttar Purush enacted it on stage but not many remember it now,” said Pati.
Asked about the euphoria created around Ahe Nilashaila, he added, “The play has surely rejuvenated the theatre scene and may inspire some other big sponsors to show interest in Odia theatre. A few troupes may start selling tickets for the shows. But I am quite apprehensive if any theatre troupe can match the kind of resources used in this play.”
Bijay Mandal,OP