Kolkata: Controversy over eviction of Manoj Mitra's Sundaram from rehearsal pad

KOLKATA: After being home for 61 years, thespian Manoj Mitra’s theatre group Sundaram was evicted from 57 Jatin Das Road under court orders on Thursday.Broken sofas, trunks, a harmonium, termite-infected sets and a wheelchair were among the many props that lay on the road outside the house till Friday afternoon. Mitra, however, claimed not to even know that there was an eviction case being fought against his group since 2012. Matters took a turn for the worse when on Friday evening some 25 “theatres lovers” broke the lock and claimed repossession. Photo of props lying outside on Friday afternoonIn 1957, Mitra had started this group along with Partha Pratim Chowdhury. The group has staged more than 70 productions including “Jaa Nei Bharote”, “Sajano Bagan”, “Galpo Hekim Saheb”, “Alokanandar Putra Kanya” and “Chayar Prasad”. In 1986, Mitra got the Sangeet Natak Akademi award for writing “Sajona Bagan”. This eviction came as a big blow to Mitra, who insisted that monthly rent of Rs 1300 was paid to the rent control office till 2018. “We were not given any summon from the court. Suddenly, this eviction happened. Then I find all our valuable property destroyed and thrown on the streets. Never has any city theatre group faced such humiliation,” the thespian claimed. Sundaram members alleged that many valuables including DVDs of music, documents, books donated by actor Kali Banerjee and a sound system, had gone missing. Gopa Basu and Kakali Basu from the owners' family Dr Saptarshi Basu, son of co-owner Sanjay Kumar Basu, accused Mitra of manipulating the truth. “We have lost all respect for Mitra. He misused his power. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 have been issued for 60 days in front of our premises. How can people assemble here as a group and defy court orders this way? This is contempt of court,” he alleged.However, actor Dipak Das of Sundaram, who was part of brigade that kept the props inside, smelt a larger “conspiracy” behind this eviction. “Veteran theatre workers including Meghnad Bhattacharya and Bibhas Chakraborty have extended their support to us. After they had left, we theatre lovers protested in front of the house and put the props inside,” Das said. What if defying court orders lands them in trouble? “We will face the consequences,” Das said.The Basus claimed that the problems with this theatre group began seven years ago. “My husband, Asit Kumar Basu, had asked Manoj-babu to vacate the property since our family members had increased and we needed more space. But we were verbally abused. My husband died a month after this nasty altercation,” Gopa Basu said. The termite-infected walls of one of the rooms that was rented to SundaramThe Basus alleged that every time they requested Sundaram to vacate, they were asked to move court. “For eight years, we fought the case. How can someone feign ignorance now?” the Basus wondered claiming that they had no hand in destroying the props. “We hadn’t even entered the two rooms till Thursday. The evacuation was done by the court in the presence of lawyers. The rooms are in a terrible condition. The group never took care of the room. The walls are termite-infected and that’s damaging our entire property. The condition of the props suggest that this was their dumping yard and nothing else,” said Kakali Basu.Meanwhile, some group members alleged that the owners had “forged documents” to either allow land sharks to develop the property or start their own theatre group. To this, the Basus said: “We have no interest in forming theatre groups. We need space for our family. Besides, what we do with our property is our decision.”Meanwhile, a senior officer from Rabindra Sarovar police station said, “On Thursday night, we received a complaint from Sundaram regarding the eviction. Our officers visited the place and found that the court orders have been followed. Since it is a civil matter, we didn’t intervene. On Friday, representatives of the house owner had come to complain about the repossession. We have asked for a written complaint.” The repossession by 'theatre lovers'