Assam's mobile theatres are a match for cinema as they combine carnival and drama to entertain live audiences
An Assamese in her mid-30s remembers watching the Mahabharata on stage as a child. "The special effects were great. During Draupadi's climactic scene, the saree wouldn't end as it was being unravelled. I still wonder how they did it!"
That was the state's mobile theatre, a culture that was revived over 40 years ago and has stood the test of time, as over 30-35 groups tour every year to stage plays to a 2,500 strong audience under a shamiana. The plays borrow their plots from Shakespeare's works, and even Hollywood blockbusters like The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Anaconda, Titanic, recreating dinosaurs or scenes of a plane hijack on a dual stage measuring over 80 feet, with the production costs being close to Rs 80 lakhs.
Coming soon to New Delhi at the invitation of the National School of Drama (NSD), the tours are community affairs where a group of about 150 including actors, musicians, lightmen travel together along with their kitchen as they move across the state in a couple of trucks, buses and over a dozen cars. The group comes together in July, rehearses for about a month-and-a-half and is then ready to hit the road with about three new plays. Says Hengool theatre's Sankalpajit Hazarika, "We stay for three days in one place, staging two to three shows every night."
The traditional theatre, with its urban themes is different from the 'jatra' in West Bengal and the 'tamasha' of Maharashtra. The music, too, has turned digital and Hazarika says, "We bring out albums of songs from our plays, which are sold at the venue and in shops." The point of reference is the cinema and many popular artistes from the film and music industry are involved in the plays.
Says actor Adil Hussain, who played actress Vidya Balan's husband in the film Ishqiya and started his career in the mobile theatre over a decade ago, "The discipline was great and I truly admire the workers who set up the show overnight; it all works like clockwork." A carnival-like atmosphere is built up, with food stalls springing up at the venue.
NSD graduate Biplab Borkakoti, who is researching the phenomenon, is fascinated with the quick changes as the scenes onstage change within a couple of minutes, and the action shifts swiftly from one stage to the other, sometimes even taking place simultaneously on both. The scripts have changed over the years, says Borkakoti, "Melodrama ruled in the 60s, with stories of Shahjahan and Anarkali. The Assam movement saw the scripts taking on political overtones, which was followed by a period infused by romance and Amitabh Bachchan's brand of cinema."
The mobile theatre provides employment to nearly 10,000 people directly and indirectly. Says the leading Kohinoor group's producer 70-year-old Ratan Lahkar, whose uncle Achyut Lahkar revived the art form, "Our charity shows contribute over Rs 25 crores to Assam's development and education annually." The theatre owners get about Rs 50,000 per show, with profits split for repeat shows. The tickets are in the range of Rs 500 to Rs 700 for three days, at times lower. Multiply that by an audience of 2,500 per show and it makes good business sense.
Even as the concept goes strong, some changes are called for in terms of better scripts. Says Hussain, "It faces the same problem that plagues Bollywood. Commercials override creativity." But, as Hazarika reiterates, "It's all about entertainment and making sure the audience goes back home happy."
An Assamese in her mid-30s remembers watching the Mahabharata on stage as a child. "The special effects were great. During Draupadi's climactic scene, the saree wouldn't end as it was being unravelled. I still wonder how they did it!"
That was the state's mobile theatre, a culture that was revived over 40 years ago and has stood the test of time, as over 30-35 groups tour every year to stage plays to a 2,500 strong audience under a shamiana. The plays borrow their plots from Shakespeare's works, and even Hollywood blockbusters like The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Anaconda, Titanic, recreating dinosaurs or scenes of a plane hijack on a dual stage measuring over 80 feet, with the production costs being close to Rs 80 lakhs.
Coming soon to New Delhi at the invitation of the National School of Drama (NSD), the tours are community affairs where a group of about 150 including actors, musicians, lightmen travel together along with their kitchen as they move across the state in a couple of trucks, buses and over a dozen cars. The group comes together in July, rehearses for about a month-and-a-half and is then ready to hit the road with about three new plays. Says Hengool theatre's Sankalpajit Hazarika, "We stay for three days in one place, staging two to three shows every night."
The traditional theatre, with its urban themes is different from the 'jatra' in West Bengal and the 'tamasha' of Maharashtra. The music, too, has turned digital and Hazarika says, "We bring out albums of songs from our plays, which are sold at the venue and in shops." The point of reference is the cinema and many popular artistes from the film and music industry are involved in the plays.
Says actor Adil Hussain, who played actress Vidya Balan's husband in the film Ishqiya and started his career in the mobile theatre over a decade ago, "The discipline was great and I truly admire the workers who set up the show overnight; it all works like clockwork." A carnival-like atmosphere is built up, with food stalls springing up at the venue.
NSD graduate Biplab Borkakoti, who is researching the phenomenon, is fascinated with the quick changes as the scenes onstage change within a couple of minutes, and the action shifts swiftly from one stage to the other, sometimes even taking place simultaneously on both. The scripts have changed over the years, says Borkakoti, "Melodrama ruled in the 60s, with stories of Shahjahan and Anarkali. The Assam movement saw the scripts taking on political overtones, which was followed by a period infused by romance and Amitabh Bachchan's brand of cinema."
The mobile theatre provides employment to nearly 10,000 people directly and indirectly. Says the leading Kohinoor group's producer 70-year-old Ratan Lahkar, whose uncle Achyut Lahkar revived the art form, "Our charity shows contribute over Rs 25 crores to Assam's development and education annually." The theatre owners get about Rs 50,000 per show, with profits split for repeat shows. The tickets are in the range of Rs 500 to Rs 700 for three days, at times lower. Multiply that by an audience of 2,500 per show and it makes good business sense.
Even as the concept goes strong, some changes are called for in terms of better scripts. Says Hussain, "It faces the same problem that plagues Bollywood. Commercials override creativity." But, as Hazarika reiterates, "It's all about entertainment and making sure the audience goes back home happy."
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