The “curry western” flavour of Sholay (1975) gets a new spice added to its exciting concoction as Blank Verse’s new play directed by Raja Bhattacharya; “Chashme Baddoor” takes the stage this January. Deriving its inspiration from the ever celebrated Ramesh Sippy film that kept the movie screens ignited for 5 years, the play is a humbler and a humane take along with a series of twists.
These twists are a must to sweep the audience off their feet as and when they hatch and take their shape on stage. The first one to look forward to is the esteemed actor, Deb Shankar Halder acing the role of Gabbar Singh. The character that is known for its villainous instincts appears rather humble and jovial. This is a Gabbar that you could relate to or perhaps dare to laugh at.
To the accompaniment of this delightful sight is the role of children who form the pillars of the play. They are as they should be; fun, bright, and vibrant. In the words of the Director, it is simply for sheer joy and happiness that they have put up this play. He is glad that a 20- minute play that he had brainstormed to celebrate 100 years of Tagore for a group of school children has grown twice its duration and matter in “Chashme Baddoor”.
But wait! Tagore? How could Gabbar ever be related to Tagore?
Well, the play does somehow achieve it through one of its “twists” in the tale. The celebrated character “Thakur” known for his legendary clash with Gabbar where the latter says, “Yeh haath humko de de Thakur” in this context, is the “Thakur” who has lit up the world of Literature and is the pride of Bengal, Rabi Thakur. It is this twist that sutures the narrative world of the play. The role of the celebrated “Thakur” that is played to perfection by the director himself, needless to say, signifies the idea of a Utopic world; a world turned upside down. It, however, feels strange but is not unbelievable. The honest contextualization of the play makes it so. Its believability lies in its relevance.
Though filled with mind-boggling reversals like the villagers being happy instead of being frightened at the arrival of Gabbar’s rowdy men in to the village, it is fraught with its share of anarchy. The beauty of the play, however, lies in its bid to achieve a strangely satisfying equilibrium in the midst of dilemma. There is beauty in chaos and chaos in beauty. Violence emerges out of a near perfect situation of the villagers trying to please Gabbar while, on the other hand, a sense of sacrifice and universal love emerges out of a painfully violent scene of Thakur (in this case, Rabindranath Tagore) willingly sacrificing his hands. A Yin Yang taking shape, so as to say.
The legendary female character, “Basanti” is subtly echoed in the character “Pushpa” of the play. Quite an iconic name with respect to the play, indeed. Borrowing the undying spirit of Basanti from Sholay (1975), Pushpa is a rebel who wants to usurp Gabbar’s position. She is fierce, bold, and fearless which indeed is a refreshing take on the “damsels in distress” of the “Westerns”. This Pushpa really hates tears!
In all, like every play, the message of “Chashme Baddoor” varies from person to person. However, what remains constant is its journey drawing from a small point somewhere from 70s Popular Cinema and thereafter entering a broader spectrum through Tagore’s Universalism. The name of the play also renders justice to the open-endedness of the play as it raises a question.
Is the evil really the evil?
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