Osukher Utsav: A serious & melancholic play on our internet-driven life, writes Shanku Sharma

Drama – Osukher Utsav
Script/ playwright – Indranil Dey
Director – Saptadwip Biswas
Production – Bibarton Theatre Group, Hailakandi

April 15: Can a society celebrate a disease or make fun of an epileptic attack, which accidentally goes live or viral on social media? Perhaps yes! Such is the condition of our so-called ‘civilised’ society. This bitter truth comes to the fore in playwright/ scriptwriter Indranil Dey’s hard-hitting play ‘Osukher Utsav’. Directed by Saptadwip Biswas (thought, execution and implementation by Silchar’s one of the most talented theatre personalities Sayan Biswas) and produced by Hailakandi’s Bibarton Theatre Group, Osukher Utsav sets a melancholic tone for its audience at the beginning itself.

Staged at Silchar’s Banga Bhawan on April 11 (Monday at socio-cultural and sports organisation Rupam’s 41st Naresh Chandra Pal Memorial All India Bengali One-Act Play Competition 2022), the play is a serious and melancholic take on our internet-driven life. It is about those algorithms (personified by actors and actresses wearing black costumes in the play) that dictate our lives, dominate our senses and govern our hearts.

The name of a film or a play matters a lot. It should be in corroboration with the play’s theme, plot and content. As the name suggests, Osukher Utsav (festival of disease/ celebrating disease) centres on Nilabha (played superbly by the talented Anirban Roy) who is a lonely individual suffering from epilepsy. It features Anirban and Sweata Das as leads.

Bibarton Theatre Group has never failed to amaze its audience. The case is the same with Osukher Utsav. As the curtain rises, we see a wheelchair-bound girl (Isha, played superbly by Shuktara Samkalpa) strumming a melodious tune (playing guitar). Enters Sonu (Isha’s sister, played brilliantly by Sweata Das) who works for a food delivery app (a delivery person) and somehow manages to earn something for her family (father, mother and sister).

But Sonu’s father (played by a young Aritra Dhar) is skeptical of her job. Being a former trade union leader, he still believes in socialism, equality and democracy. He questions the very nature of her job and demeans it. However, Sonu wins the argument. At the office, she learns she has to deliver food items so as to fulfill her day’s target. Though very optimistic about her job, Sonu gradually realises her life (especially her job) is not a bed of roses. Her senior colleague Roni (played well by Partha Pal) makes her realise the real nature of her job (he says she has to deliver at least seven orders, take the route suggested by the app and try to earn good reviews from the customers).

All these make Sonu nervous. Here Sweata comes up with a stunning performance. She gets into the skin of the character and feels uneasily, panicky, and anxious. Her tension gets accentuated in the next scene when she goes to deliver her final order of the day (today is Isha’s birthday and Sonu has to bring cakes and other birthday-related materials). Enters the awesome Anirban Roy. He has the capacity to set the stage on fire through his power-packed performances. The actor here does not dismay his fans. Instead, he pulls out a stunner (with equal support from Sweata).

Anirban as Nilabha is epileptic. His illness has forced him to live a lonely life (lonely mornings, afternoons, evenings and nights). He is cut-off from the rest of the world. Thanks to social media. How? Here, we come to the hard-hitting and pathetic truth about Nilabha. He tells Sonu how once his epileptic attack got viral on social media (he could not stop the live video due to the epileptic attack and ended up becoming a laughing stock on his birthday).

This tragic part forms the crux of Indranil and Sayan’s hard-hitting drama, Osukher Utsav. The drama shows how social media algorithms govern, rule, dictate and dominate our lives. Madhumita Saha plays Sonu’s mother who tries to stop all sorts of arguments between the father and the daughter. The confrontation scene between Sonu and her father has been shown beautifully. Since they are different from each other (they do not agree with each other), they never get close to each other. Space is brilliantly used here. Her father never comes to terms with his daughter’s nature of work/job.

The problems faced by delivery persons get reflected well in Osukher Utsav. Here Indranil and Sayan do not preach. Instead, Anirban’s brilliant act reflects the pathos underlying this drama. Anirban delivers a stellar performance. Sweata and Aritra deliver brilliant performances as well. Rupraj Deb’s lighting, Aritra’s stage setting and music, and Riya Deb’s make-up are unblemished. Making a young Aritra Dhar father is challenging. Nilabha appears mysterious since he does not even bother to answer Sonu’s queries.

Script and direction are very important for plays. They should go hand-in-hand. It seems, Barak Valley is blessed to find a deadly combination of Indranil Dey and Sayan Biswas. The duo created wonders with their light-hearted play, Chaichhi Tomar Bondhuta (produced by Ajker Pronjonmo Theatre, Silchar). Both Sayan and Indranil know a lot about the world of theatre.

This play is reflective of their talent, passion, creativity and mastery. Other actors include Saptadwip Biswas, Subhra Das, Shalini Mishra, Sushmita Kar, Riya Deb, Ratnajoy Nath and Madhurjya Chowdhury (an excellent actor). Since the end product is so good, it needs mention here that the team (under the efficient guidance of Sayan Biswas and Indranil Dey) has well done their homework. Indranil Dey is certainly on fire. So is Sayan Biswas.

Also Read: Revisiting Sayan Biswas, Indranil Dey’s “Chaichi Tomar Bondhutta”, writes Shanku Sharma