Amol Palekar may steer Bohurupee revival

Kolkata: When film and theatre personality Amol Palekar speaks at Gorky Sadan next month, it might be the beginning of a long-standing relationship with the city. Bohurupee, the threatre group founded in 1948 by Shambhu Mitra and others who broke away from the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), has approached Palekar to deliver the prestigious Kumar Roy lecture and also to mentor Bohurupee, which is going through a difficult phase.
The ace actor will be in the city on March 2, the birthday of legendary playwright-director Kumar Roy, one of the founder members of Bohurupee who passed away in 2009, to deliver the memorial lecture and also to explore possibilities of a long-term association that could lead to future productions.
"People like Shambhu Mitra and and Kumar Roy shaped my sensibilities ever since I came into theatre in 1967. Those were different times when the Kolkata group theatre scene lit up theatre movements in Pune, Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Shambhu Mitra and his plays were considered to be beacon lights. For me, Shambhu-da, will remain my guru till my last day," Palekar told TOI while in the city over the weekend to attend a litfest where he spoke on the legendary Badal Sircar, the other great influence in his life.
Palekar got introduced to theatre through Satyadev Dubey, a legend of the Marathi stage who also initiated him into the elite company of Girish Karnad and Mohan Rakesh, who in turn sent him often to witness the changing language of theatre that Kolkata was experimenting with at that time.
"Night after night I witnessed the greats of the Kolkata stage come alive and shake viewers out of their stupor. I was left wondering how Shambhu-da introduced Ibsenian realism to an audience that was still used to a yesteryear hangover of unreal nacha-gaana. There was not a single Bohurupee production that I missed out in the city. Soon, Shambhu-da took a liking for me, a greenhorn who sat at his feet and listened wide-eyed to a completely new philosophy of life and living," Palekar said, visibly emotional and transported to another world. He revealed how he queued up all night infront of the Academy of Fine Arts to buy a ticket for Shambhu Mitra's comeback play after his self-declared retirement.
Later, Palekar grew so close to both Shambhu and Tripti Mitra that they would visit him in Pune often and participate in the Marathi stage movement. His plays were immediately translated into Marathi and performed there. "Now that I have taken a sabbatical from films to explore theatre and painting, I miss that atmosphere. It was charged and completely heady. Today I yearn to re-enter that realm of creativity and I will be happy to discuss possibilities with Bohurupee," he said. He revealed that there was a film that he shot with Tripti Mitra at a jute mill near Chandernagore. It did not release unfortunately, but the possibility of taking a look at the film can be explored even now.
Kumar Roy's son, painter Indrapramit Roy, who is senior faculty at the MS University Baroda, has re-started the dialogue on behalf of Bohurupee with Palekar. "In May, Bohurupee will hold its theatre festival. At the moment, we are going through a deep financial crisis and are trying our best to keep afloat. We are excited that Palekar-ji has agreed to come for the lecture. We will sit down to chalk out a possible revival route. The Marathi stage is still doing so well and there are many lessons that he could bring with him here," said Tapas Das, Bohurupee actor and an executive committee member.
According to sources, there's a possibility that Palekar will translate Shambhu Mitra's plays in Marathi and stage them in Pune. Bohurupee, on the other hand, is ready with two new productions - Katha Nalanda that will re-tell the story of the decline of the Nalanda University of yore and another play based on a story by Ishmat Chughtai.