Utpal Dutt & Kallol

Chanchal Bhattacharya

Utpal Dutt was born on March 29, 1929. Exactly 36 years later on March 29, 1965, the Little Theatre Group’s play ‘Kallol’ premiered at Minerva Theatre. Nearly a hundred individuals were involved in this production, both on stage and behind the scenes.

On March 13, 1966, a grand victory celebration for Kallol was held at the Monument Grounds in Calcutta, in front of a crowd of several lakhs. National leaders of the Communist Party attended the event and personally congratulated Utpal Dutt.

An excerpt from the invitation written by Utpal Dutt for the Kallol victory celebration reads:

“Father, I pledge to you—
Let storms and attacks come,
Let imprisonment and torture follow,
Let there be scorn and neglect,
And mocking laughter in many forms—
Forever will the cannons of Khyber roar,
Forever will Minerva belong to the workers and laborers,
Forever will Minerva belong to Priyanath Ghosh.”

Kallol created history in the world of Bengali theatre. During its run, at the time of the Indo-Pak war, Utpal Dutt was imprisoned without trial on the day of the ceasefire. Although he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Academi Award twice—once as the playwright of Ferari Fouj (1962), and again as the director of Kallol (1966)—he refused to accept the honours. Throughout his career, he made it clear that he saw himself as a propagandist.

Kallol stirred up intense reactions in the world of theatre. Anandabazar Patrika stopped publishing advertisements for the play, and soon other newspapers followed. In response, the walls of Calcutta were plastered with posters that read: “Kallol is running—and will continue to run.” The play finally closed after 895 consecutive days, and Utpal Dutt returned to the stage.

With its innovative subject matter, remarkable execution, and powerful performances, Kallol will remain a landmark production in the history of Bengali theatre. The play was based on the 1946 Naval Revolt.

At one point, rumours spread that Sardul Singh, alias Sekhar Chattopadhyay, might be assassinated. One day, Shambhu Bhattacharya was beaten on Hedua Road. Jyotsna Dastidar was also attacked and later arrested.

I was twenty when I watched Kallol. Sixty years have passed since then. I am now in my eighties. Yet Utpal Dutt’s immortal creation Kallol continues to shine in the innermost chamber of my heart.