NSD presents a theatrical ode to India’s unsung heroes

Think of an assassination from the annals of Indian freedom struggle. Most memories would rush back to 1928 when Bhagat Singh, along with Shivaram Rajguru, shot John Saunders — an assistant superintendent of police — during the British rule. But much before this, in 1897, brothers Damodar Hari Chapekar and Balkrishna Hari Chapekar had successfully assassinated British official WC Rand and his military escort Lieutenant Ayerst at Pune, Maharashtra. Many unsung heroes, like Chapekar brothers, risked and sacrificed their lives and are now the inspiration for protagonists in the stories that have found spotlight at the ongoing 22nd Bharat Rang Mahotsav – Azadi Series, by National School of Drama (NSD).

Recalling the tale of Chapekar brothers, which is till date remembered as the first case of militant nationalism in India, after the 1857 Revolt, is the play titled The Plan. “It was a successful assassination. But it could be successful, because there was a lot of planning that went in it. Similarly, in the Nasik Conspiracy Case, AMT Jackson, the then collector of Nasik, was shot dead. These incidents are known, par uske peeche ki planning ke baare mein log zyada nahi jante. Yeh natak us planning ko dikhata hai,” shares Yogesh Soman, director of the play, adding, “In officers ko marne ke peeche freedom fighters ke kya vichar the aur unki mansik tayyari kitni thi, we explore that as well. The historical books where these incidents are documented are mostly in Marathi. We collected most of the logical and rational evidences related to these events in history, to form this play, without distorting any facts.”

Celebrating the 75 years of India’s independence, as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the festival that kick-started in Delhi recently, has staging of five plays, which will then travel to other parts of the country. Professor Ramesh Chandra Gaur, director, NSD, informs, “To pay tribute to the unsung heroes of freedom struggle of India, we are organising 30 plays in six major cities namely Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Varanasi, Amritsar, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. This festival will culminate on August 14 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, with a special closing ceremony for this series of plays.”

Another production that has found place in this fest is the dramatisation of the famous story of Train To Pakistan. “Iska natya rupantar Suman Kumar ne kiya hai, from Usha Mahajan’s Hindi translation of author Khushwant Singh’s acclaimed historical novel by the same name,” shares Amar Sah, director of the play. Sah recounts how the play was selected in 2021, from more than 800 entries worldwide, to be staged as part of BRM. He adds, “We were to perform it in Nasik, in February this year, but it got postponed due to the third Covid wave. Now when we got to know last month that it has been selected for Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, we were very happy that we’ll be able to finally showcase it to the audience.”

Giving clarity about the main theatre festival, which is planned later this year, Gaur explains, “This ongoing festival has been named Bharat Rang Mahotsav – Azadi Series because we are not organising the complete Bharat Rang Mahotsav right now. This particular segment has nataks only on azadi. The main BRM will start in mid-October.”

Catch It Live

What: 22nd Bharat Rang Mahotsav – Azadi Series

Where: Kamani Auditorium, Copernicus Marg

On till: July 20

Timing: 6.30pm

Nearest Metro Station: Mandi House on the Blue and Violet Lines