AZAR - Shakespeare in Bengali
"Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand?"
A play by William Shakespeare at one hand might be enough for some theatre lovers to flock to a theatre & on the other hand can be something in the 'nothing new' category. But going by the timeless-ness of the master's creation, there is little doubt that his works are relevant even in today's day and age.
In Auckland, today we witnessed an Indian adaptation of William Shakespeare's classic tragedy MACBETH, penned by the talented writer and actor (who also played the role of Yasmeen - Lady Macbeth) Swastika Ganguly and directed by Anirban Datta.
It is any actors dream to play a Shakespearean character and the director Anirban Datta had the idea of doing the Indian adaptation for quite sometime. It was a dream role for actors Bikram Banerjee (playing Azar/Macbeth) and Swastika Ganguly (Yasmeen/Lady Macbeth). Actors Shetu Kazi, Shaival Chakraborty, Abhijeet Roy, Jhuma Saha, Tapas Saha and the director himself Anirban Datta (who had a small appearance) also put in their very best to do justice to the script. The effort and the intellect that went into the project was very evident from the script and the performances. The audience was unanimous in praising the dialogues.
It is any actors dream to play a Shakespearean character and the director Anirban Datta had the idea of doing the Indian adaptation for quite sometime. It was a dream role for actors Bikram Banerjee (playing Azar/Macbeth) and Swastika Ganguly (Yasmeen/Lady Macbeth). Actors Shetu Kazi, Shaival Chakraborty, Abhijeet Roy, Jhuma Saha, Tapas Saha and the director himself Anirban Datta (who had a small appearance) also put in their very best to do justice to the script. The effort and the intellect that went into the project was very evident from the script and the performances. The audience was unanimous in praising the dialogues.
The adaptation was based on Kashmir of the Kargil War times and involved the forgotten army Ikhwan-Ul-Muslimeen. Everything from the sound to the lights and the set design complimented & set the tone for the actors to deliver a power-packed performance. My personal favourite scene would have to be the murder scene which changes AZAR's life.
We were presented a good production with stellar performances specially by Bikram Banerjee, Swastika Ganguly & of course the well known theatre personality of Auckland, Ujjal Ghosh who once again is effortless in delivering the most complex emotions.
As we know, a production is incomplete without the invaluable support of the off-stage crew. Commendable team-work was evident from:
Rajib Malakar (Production Manager & Sound)
Rupa Bhattacharya (Prompter)
Soumitra Bhattacharya (Narrator)
Debalina Basu (Make-Up)
Sharing some mobile captures and the promotional videos that I did.
As we know, a production is incomplete without the invaluable support of the off-stage crew. Commendable team-work was evident from:
Rajib Malakar (Production Manager & Sound)
Rupa Bhattacharya (Prompter)
Soumitra Bhattacharya (Narrator)
Debalina Basu (Make-Up)
Sharing some mobile captures and the promotional videos that I did.
"There 's daggers in men's smiles"
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