Old Man’s Orchard:
Some stories are timeless and universal, even though they may belong to a particular era and location. Most underdog stories would fit into this category. Manoj Mitra’s Bengali original Bancharamer Bagan, a sharp satire, has been staged several time in many languages and it remains as amusing as ever. It was also made into a film by Tapan Sinha.
Masood Akhtar working with Santwana Nigam’s Hindi translation, acts the lead part of Bancharam in the new IPTA production, named Buddhe Ne Maari Century, to perhaps update it for a new audience. The style he adopts is broad farce, in which the actors are all a bit loud and caricaturish. The core of the story is serious– exploitation of the poor farmer by the zamindaar. Only this time, the worm turns.
Bancharam has cultivated his tiny plot of land into a beautiful orchard that is coveted by the landlord, who for some reason has not been able to usurp the land. The current landlord Chaukodi’s (Niraj Pandey) father Naukodi (Shivkant Lakhanpal) died trying to grab the orchard and now his ghost haunts it.
The old man in ill and so frail, he cannot even stand upright. His ne’er-do-well grandson, Gopi (Vikas Rawat) hopes to inherit the land when Bancharam dies, but before that Chaukodi makes him sign over the property to him, in exchange for a small sum of money guaranteed to him every month till his death. It seems like everyone is waiting for him to kick the bucket, and Banchram is eager to oblige, but something or the other keeps getting in the way. A sincere doctor (Aanjjan Srivasatv), manages to keep prolonging Bancharam’s life, and, of course, the monthly installment helps
Then Gopi turns up with his new bride Padma (Ranjana Srivasatv), who is so enamored of the greenery and beauty of the orchard, that she looks after the old man. There is even a thief, who wants Bancharam to retain his plot, because he has been living off what he steals from the orchard.
As Bancharam regains his strength, Chaukodi’s fortunes waver, but there is some sympathy for him, since he is a man of his word, and does not renege on his promise. Gopi, on the other hand, is just opportunistic. Mitra used dark humour in the situation, without painting any character as totally evil. Through the minor characters like Chaukodi’s money-grubbing sons, he establishes their greed in a fast-changing feudal environment of rural Bengal. Bancharam is the real star however; when he knows he has the upper hand, he takes full advantage of it, as if he were avenging all historical wrongs inflicted on small farmers by powerful zamindaars.
MS Sathyu’s attractive set neatly demarcates Bancharam’s humble hut and Chaukodi’s comfortable abode; the costumes are apt for the time and milieu. The text could do with some trimming, to make the comedy come out better. Masood Akhtar is excellent as Bancharam, making his initial decripitude and later recovery, believable and funny. The other actors get into the spirit of the farce, and their enjoyment seems to reach out to the audience.
(This piece first appeared in mumbaitheatreguide.com)
