‘Don’ Suman finds new Sancho in brother Sujan

Team Don — Taake Bhalo Laage faced a shocker recently when they found that Satish Shaw, the actor playing Sancho Panza in the play, had been diagnosed with oral cancer. Director Sujan Mukhopadhyay has decided to step into the shoes of Don Quixote’s right-hand man till Satish recuperates and becomes fit to join the production. With this change, the two Mukhopadhyay brothers, Suman (playing Don) and Sujan, will be seen together on stage for the first time.
Satish has been a part of the production almost since the beginning and has performed in the first seven shows. “Sancho is a pivotal character and Satish is an important actor in our team. Everyone liked his performance,” said Sujan. “We were flabbergasted when we heard about his ailment. In fact, he performed in one show on May 24 in Barasat after he got his reports. But he has to get admitted and we needed an immediate replacement. I think I am the one who knows the play inside out. So I decided to play the character,” he added.
With Sujan playing Sancho and Suman Don, this will be the first time the two brothers will be seen together in an interactive performance on stage. “In the early ’80s, I remember Dad (Arun Mukhopadhyay), Neel (Sujan) and I performed once in a tiny adaptation of a Chinese fable. I was around 12-14 and Neel was about seven or eight,” Suman told us. “Though we took part in several Chetana productions, this is for the first time Neel and I will be staging an interactive performance.”
Will it be easier to adapt to the sudden change since Sujan is his brother? “I hardly think so. Blood relations don’t matter on stage. The chemistry two actors develop on stage or in a performing space has nothing to do with the relationship they share outside. Brother, mother, wife, girlfriend — nothing can make acting easier or more difficult. My chemistry with Satish developed in that acting space. On-stage chemistry is independent of personal chemistry,” Suman said. “Having said that, I know Neel got into the character of Sancho really quick because as a director, he has been a part of this play since its inception. There is one more thing. It was way more difficult for me to come back on stage as I have been away from acting for a long time. For Neel, it’s a cakewalk, for he spends around 18 hours acting — on stage or in films and television. In fact, when Satish fell ill, I told Neel to be mentally prepared.”
But it wasn’t easy for the team to arrange for everything at the last moment. “Yes, I know the dialogues, but I got just two days to rehearse with the entire team. Dada (Suman) was there in only one rehearsal as he had to go to Naihati. The best part, however, is that I could keep on chanting my dialogues and songs with Nivedita (Mukhopadhyay, Sujan’s wife, who plays Dulcinea),” Sujan added.
The costume, too, was one of the reasons to be bothered about. “In this flux, I realised that the Mexican cowboy costume we had ordered online for Sancho was bigger than the required size. We are using some parts of that ensemble. I also managed a cowboy hat.”
Suman is going to miss Satish — his comrade so far. “It would have been easier to accept his absence if he was busy shooting or had some personal commitment. But that is not the case. It is tragic and painful,” the actor added ruefully.
Satish will be admitted to a south Kolkata hospital on Sunday and by Tuesday, the surgery will be done. “It is an expensive treatment. We have collected some money and from Chetana, we have placed a donation box for him at each of our shows. After each show, we have planned to offer our hat to the audience. Every bit of help will make a difference to Satish,” Sujan said.