Manifesto of Revolution

Chanchal Bhattacharya

Shovabazar Pratibimbo Natyasanstha recently staged their latest production, Rashbihari, at the Academy of Fine Arts under the masterful direction of Charnak Chattopadhyay. The play revolves around the life of the revolutionary Rash Behari Bose, who was born on May 25, 1886, in Subaldaha, British India (now in East Burdwan district of West Bengal). His father was Binod Behari Bose, and his mother was Bhubaneswari Devi.

Rash Behari Bose was a prominent leader in India’s anti-British independence movement and a key organiser of the Indian National Army. In his early years, he was involved in various revolutionary activities and was accused in the 1908 Alipore Bomb Case. Later, he moved to Dehradun and took up the position of head clerk at the Forest Research Institute, where he secretly established connections with revolutionaries from Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab.

One of Rash Behari Bose’s most notable revolutionary acts was orchestrating a deadly attack on Viceroy Lord Hardinge. In 1912, under his plan and directive, the young revolutionary Basanta Biswas threw a bomb targeting Hardinge in Delhi. However, despite the massive manhunt, Bose managed to evade arrest. He played a crucial role in initiating an armed uprising and mass rebellion across India. However, due to the betrayal of an informant, the movement was exposed. As he became a prime suspect in the eyes of the British government, he was ultimately forced to flee the country.

On May 12, 1915, Rash Behari Bose left India aboard the Japanese ship Sanuki Maru from Calcutta’s Kidderpore Port. Before departing, he procured a passport under the alias of Raja Priyanath Tagore, a relative of Rabindranath Tagore. Outside India, he formed the Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) in Singapore and later handed over its command to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The great revolutionary breathed his last in Japan on January 21, 1945.

One of director Charnak Chattopadhyay’s most remarkable discoveries in this production is Amit Ray, who, through his exceptional acting, truly embodied Rasbihari. His movements and speech reflected the essence of a true revolutionary, making Rasbihari a compelling theatrical experience. His performance was well-matched by director Charnak Chattopadhyay (as Higgins), Ritwik Bera (as Basanta Biswas), Swapnadwip Chakraborty (as Kripal Singh), Krishnadas Chattopadhyay (as Balmukund/Ramswaroop), Jyotirmala Khelwar (as Rakhi), Aishiki Roy (as Jabeda), and Soumi Ghosh (as Luizi).

Other notable performances included Ronit De (as Shreesh Chandra Ghosh), Arunoday Haldar (as Surgeon Gordon), Sujal Maity (as Manindra/Lucky Singh), Bipradas Bandyopadhyay (as Dinanath), Aakash Pandit (as Abodh Bihari/Colonel Ramsey), Sourav Mitra (as Motilal Roy), Sushan Saha (as Satyen/Pingle), Siddharth Sarkar (as Biren Dutta Gupta), Ayan Mukhopadhyay (as Officer Mohandas/Lawrence), Jeetam Debnath (as Teggart), Prasad Ghosh (as Bagha Jatin/Hayat Khan), Prabir Ghosh (as Hardwal), Subhojit Bodhak (as Sunil Sen), Arya Sengupta (as Mula Singh), Bonita Mahanti (as Maria), Shraddha Ghosh (as Clerk), Souraj Karmakar (as Guard 1/Peon), Soumili Kundu (as Guard 2/Housemaid), and Purba Ghosh (as Sutradhaar).

The play was visually enhanced by the lighting expertise of Soumen Chakraborty, while the sound design by Swapan Bandyopadhyay upheld his stellar reputation. The innovative stage design by Bilu Dutta added a new dimension to the production. Shankha Bhattacharya’s narration was well-received by the audience, while Sujan Mukhopadhyay’s (Neel) soulful singing and composition were outstanding.

The play Rasbihari, written by Sumantro Chattopadhyay, was elevated to a high artistic level by the superb performances of Shovabazar Pratibimb’s talented actors. Under the skilful direction of Charnak Chattopadhyay and through extraordinary teamwork, Rasbihari became a true workshop theatre production. This daring endeavour will undoubtedly remain a milestone in the history of this theatre group.

At the end of the play, in a joint initiative by Anirban and Shovabazar Pratibimb, Playwright-Director Sachin Bhattacharya Natya Samman (2nd edition) was presented to the esteemed lighting artist, Soumen Chakraborty. The honour was handed over by his son, actor-director and theatre-lover Shankha Bhattacharya.