LIVING WITH THE STARS

Recent interactions with the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies of Dhaka University reminded me of the phrase, 'Nij Ghrihe Porobashi'. Turns out that before 2013, the department has not staged a single play written by Selim Al Deen, one of the most talked about playwrights of Bangladesh, indigenous drama researcher and someone who is considered to be one of the pioneers of theatre arts in Bangladesh. I found this very strange, especially since the department has been in existence for 20 years! When I approached the department about this, someone told me that the faculty felt that Selim Al Deen's works would be too 'hard' for students! And that were better off staging easier plays. I found this to be a bit absurd. If the country's largest university's students cannot stage Selim Al Deen play's, who can? How is it possible that other public universities have been regularly doing so? Such as Jahangirnagar University where Selim Al Deen was the founder Chairperson of the Department of Drama and Dramatics, Chittagong University, and others.
In 2013, for the first time, the department's students have performed Selim Al Deen's work, staging “Chaka”, one of his best plays. The play was simply delightful and Sudip Chakroborty, Assistant Professor of Dhaka University, deserves to be lauded for such a good production. Although Showbiz's main focus is to feature and talk about Bangladeshi celebrities, the publication will also highlight plays and stage performances of newcomers when it is significant, and draws the attention of many people. And in that category of plays and stage performance, Star Showbiz considers the performance of Chaka by the 2013 graduating batch of the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies to be the best stage production of the year.
Congratulations to the graduating batch and to Sudip Chakroborty. Hope there is more of Selim Al Deen's plays to come. 'Chaka' fits in quite appropriately to the Bangladesh we are living in today, where the collateral damage of political violence has added up to over 300 deaths in 2013. Like every other activity in Bangladesh right now, the media is also largely affected by the political mess which is creating massive chaos every day; making the streets unsafe and making life stagnant and uncertain. There are those forming L-shaped human chains at Manik Miah and those standing outside their workplaces wearing white hats in their silent demand for peace - Star Showbiz would like to echo their demands since we would like nothing more than for this violence to stop as well. Let's hope the New Year brings change and transformations for the betterment of the country.