Iconic playwright Manoj Mitra’s “Kenaram Becharam” will be staged at Nat Mandal, University of Dhaka, on Monday at 5pm.
This play is the sixth production by the drama and theatre forum of Eastern University as part of their extracurriculum. Dhaka Tribune is the media partner of this production.
Khairul Bashar, the student who directed it, considers Mitra as his inspiration. “Mitra’s multidimensional talents and his way of storytelling are quite remarkable and I am enthralled by his scripts,” says Bashar.
“Kenaram Becharam” portrays the typical structure and social dilemmas of a Hindu lower-middle class family.
Becharam Chaterjee is a simple man who is not acknowledged by his peers and never gets due respect from his family.
One day, Becharam leaves home in disgust. Right after his departure, his materialistic family starts fighting over his property based on the assumption that he is not coming back.
Nagen Panja is a professional who makes a living out of finding and returning lost persons and is not above a little chicanery. Drawn towards the reward money promised on finding Becharam, Nagen tries to pass off a vagabond Kenaram as Becharam using his skills of persuasion and double dealing. He even manages to get the police and the local politician out of his way.
Becharam’s daughter and daughter in law, along with the latter’s mother, a barrister, are convinced that it is in their interest to accept the impostor as the real Becharam. Only Sridhar, the domestic help, remains faithful to his old master. Nagen is almost successful when the original Becharam returns.
This hilarious comedy is a satire portraying the attrition of values and family ties in modern society. The end, however, leaves a ray of hope when principles and allegiance reunite the family and Nagen moves on to his next venture.
The director, Khairul, further states: “Mitra’s focus on family values and ties influenced me a lot. Through this drama I want to point out that everyone has a role to play in a family and should be in their rightful place. Due respect should be given to a person who holds a certain position in a family. Also, I wanted to highlight the fact that the weak and weary are always suppressed in our society.”
“Since the story portrays the hardships of an elderly person, we used dull colours to make the ambience gloomy. We have received support from Prachyanat, especially in sound composition.”
Nazla Fatmi, the coordinator and founder of the forum and senior lecturer of the English department at Eastern University, said: “Theatre is a creative activity. It enables a student to express their talent on a larger platform. Theatrical performance would take hesitation out of an individual and students have the opportunity to showcase their hidden talents by performing on stage.”
The entire cast of the play is comprised of students from Eastern University.