As the story goes..

1. Mr. Bhupen Talapatra wanted to rent out his house after his wife's death. However his nephew Gablu was against this decision as he, with his friends, wanted to make a library in the house and expected to get the room free. However, on continuous insistence from his uncle he arranged an advertisement in the local newspaper about renting the house.
2. Immediately after the advertisement published in the newspaper various people started enquiring about the house for various funny purposes like parar lok Ram Ram Raha wanted the house to make a clubroom for localities for playing cards, etc. without any rent.
3. One wealthy gentleman Mr. Gupta wanted the house for keeping his eight dogs.
4. One Jatra party (opera) wanted the house for their rehearsal - they even started reproducing a scene from their famous pala (show) to impress bariwalla.
5. One Mad guy (self proclaimed Shah-ja-han) got angry on hearing the news of renting his imaginary Taj Mahal (which in this case is Bhupen Talapatra's house) and wanted to punish Bhupen.
6. Krishnadas Baishnab and Baishnabi wanted the house for their peaceful stay with regular Bhajan-Kirtan.
7. Members of a Dance institute wanted the house for their practice for free.
8. One Sadhu Baba Kalikananda Bhairab alongwith his two disciples Bamacharan and Shyamacharan wanted the house to make his ashram without any rent.
9. Even members of a local club after not getting any place, started conducting a condolence meeting in the house much to the displeasure of the landlord.
10. Taking the advantage of the whole situation Gablu, with the help of some of his friends, scared off the people present by just showing that one of his friends, disguised as a stranger, is suffering from plague and that all will be affected by the disease if they do not vacate the house immediately. Gablu's idea worked and ultimately Uncle Bhupen Talapatra agreed to make a library in the house instead of renting it out.

Review continued..

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In short I can describe the drama as a delicious dish made out of hygienic ingredients added in just the right amount. Its fragrance acts like laughing gas and has also been garnished well to make it a good drama to watch for the entire family.

That was all about the drama. Now let us talk about the technical side of it. All along I took part in all the dramas staged by NBC Paribar so far. This time due to other commitments I was unable to act however enjoyed the drama as an audience.

The ambience at Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar Hall was just superb. Make up was very good as it was very difficult to make out some of our known faces. Back ground music by Siddhartha Choudhury was just sufficient( as the scope was limited). Same comment for lighting by Parthapratim Khan. Set arrangement could have been little better, showing one more window at least.

The Cast:

• Dev Bhattacharya a seasoned actor did justice to his role, but as per me his role was very submissive (may be the script demands so). He did not get any prominence throughout the drama though Dev played role effectively.
• Debashis Gupta another seasoned actor as per me was not at his best as Gablu. We expected the role to be more hilarious.
• Parar lok Ram Ram Raha - played by Abir Mukherjee was interesting.
• Dog owner - played by Ashis Sarkar was good but not very impressive as his voice was little low. His servant Kanai (Puranjay Bhattacharya) acted nicely.
• Naresh - Jatra Party director played by Abhijit Ghosh was a low key affair as it was clear he is a new comer. However he did his best. Jatra party actor Sidhu - Ravan (Played by Atanu Bhattacharya) and Keli- Surpanakha (played by Sudeshna Dey) were impressive.
  Pagol (Shajahan) played by Biswajit Biswas was superb in his short role.
• Krishnadas Baishnab played by Jyoti Chakraborty was just sufficient in his role. Madhumita Ghosh as Baishnabi could have done better if sufficient rehearsal was there.
• Sadhu Kalikananda Bhairab played by Dipak Sengupta and his disciples Shayamacharan (Praytaya Chakraborty) and Bamacharan (Piyus Ghosh) were very hilarious.
• Members of the Dance institute Shila - Japanese Dance expert played by Tanushree Sarkar, Ela - Folk dancer played by Bina Nandi and Ivy -Oriental Dancer played by Mandira Chakraborty seem to be totally new in this field but will be good investment in NBC drama paribar if trained properly.
• Shoksabha President Nitai Gargari - played by Dr. Bimal Ganguly was an excellent selection for the role. Kabi Kripasindhu played by Puranjay Bhattacharya was superb in his role. Shoksabha member Sankar Thakur was also sufficient in the role.
• Plague patient Nantu's role played by Tamajit Mukherjee was also noteworthy.

Overall it was a wonderful drama by our amateur artists which was the result of excellent team work and effective guidance of director Anup Banerjee.

Lastly few opportunities for improvement:

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Most of the actors were concentrating towards on one direction only that is towards landlord or to his table (may be they are still not stage free) rather than looking at the audience too while delivering few of their dialogues. It was apparent that all the female actors are first timers. More rehearsal may have improved this area.

I must also highlight few commendable acting like Biswajit Biswas as the mad guy and Puranjay Bhattacharya as Kabi who were excellent in their short role. Soft spoken Dr. Bimal Ganguly as Nitai Gargari was a perfect selection. Full capacity audience (about 220 people) enjoyed it throughout.

Kudos to NBC for presenting such a wonderful evening.

Natok - Bharatey Chai

Review by Dr B N Ganguly (Tulsidham)

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Recently the seasoned thespians, aspiring thespians and enthusiastic supporting actors of NBC presented this one hour play at Dr Kashinath Ghanekar Auditorium-Thane.

Ably guided by Anup Banerjee, who carefully and meticulously directed each scene, each actor so as to create the desired impact of the play. Particular attention was paid to each scene, positioning of the actors, tone & delivery of the dialogues and the overall effects needed.

The general consensus of all the participants and the audience was that it was a great fun. Particular dialogues took strong roots such as the slogan “Bom Kali Kalkattawali” by sage Kalikananda has become a household phrase I am told.

In rehearsal, ladies were always punctual and had their lines fully memorized. The male members were more “Stage-ey mere debo” oriented. Often director Anup had to proxy for those who couldn’t attend rehearsals. However, rehearsal days were fun-filled and we really miss it. One day Anup took leave from the rehearsal and told all to come and rehearse as the D-day was approaching; but, all came and after a gossip over tea & snacks, pushed off without a bit of rehearsal.

However, ultimately everyone rose to the occasion, memorized their lines and gave a very good performance on the D-day. All credit to Anup Banerjee for his motivation, careful & meticulous direction and cool temperament throughout the rehearsals.

I was called by Anup and given a small role in the play as Nitai Gargari, President of the condolence meeting. Needless to say, I enjoyed everyday rehearsals and my role very much. I also appreciate the casting of the play as all the characters seemed best suited for their roles.

Congratulations NBCians – both gentlemen & ladies. More power to your next performance!!