Mumbai theatre group to stage play on Kanan Devi in Kolkata

KOLKATA: A motley group of professionals — medicos, engineers, scientists, pilots, chartered accountants, professors and corporates — had come forward to form an amateur theatre group in Mumbai 43 years ago. Unlike other amateur groups, Anandam has a mission. Till date proceeds of their plays, amounting to a crore, have been donated for treating cancer patients and providing for the education of sex workers’ kids.They will be staging a play in Kolkata on the extraordinary life of the first superstar of Bengali cinema — Kanan Devi.
Anandam’s director Lucky Mukherjee (85) lost wife Tanusree, who used to act with them, to cancer 22 years ago. “I saw this illness very closely and wanted to do something for the patients,” he said. None of Anandam’s members are professional actors but they all agreed to contribute towards treatment of cancer patients lodged at Dr. Ernest Borges Memorial Home that is affiliated to Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Centre. Last year, Anandam also contributed Rs 2,40,000 for sponsoring education of 10 children of sex workers. Over the years, the group has staged plays like ‘Thakurer Aloe Noti Binodini’, ‘Kathae Gaane Rabindranath’, ‘Onnyo Vivekananda’, ‘Alibaba’, ‘Dushtu Projapoti’ and ‘Mukhosh’. Their latest offering, titled ‘Kananbala Theke Kanan Devi’, will be staged at the Academy of Fine Arts and Madhusudan Mancha on November 5 and 6 respectively.
It has five actors — Anushka Goswami, Yana Sain, Dibyashruti Goswami Pal, Sanghita Chatterjee and Mahua Indolkar — playing Kanan in various stages of her life.
Choosing to do a play on Kanan was influenced by the director’s personal interest in her. He spoke to actress Madhabi Mukhopadhyay, who was very close to Kanan Devi. “We talk so much about women’s liberation but have never done any significant work on her. I read Kanan Devi’s autobiography titled ‘Sabare Ami Nami’ and Mekhla Sengupta’s ‘Kanan Devi: The First Superstar of Indian Cinema’ and felt it important to write a screenplay based on her life’s story,” Mukherjee said.
Kanan’s mother used to live with someone who wasn’t her husband. On his demise, they shifted to a relative’s place. It was like jumping from a frying pan to fire. “Little Kanan was made to do all the household chores and even clean open toilets. Her first earning from a silent film was Rs 25 but she ultimately got only Rs 5. The rest was taken away by middlemen,” Mukherjee added. This play explores these aspects as well as other details, including her two marriages.