Noorjahan held her own with men of her time: Avijit Dutt

How different is your adaptation from the prevalent ones?

Tell us a bit about your research process.
 
From fiction to History books the extant material is rich. But I had to internalise and leave it all behind while writing it. Always checking back with my wife, the historian for veracity. A simple fact like: Jahangir abolished silver mining since there was a surfeit of it in the country, opened many doors for me. As an aside: this same silver would travel abroad to finance the Industrial Revolution in a century. 

While playing a character who's an actual figure, albeit dead, how do you approach it? Do you simply follow the text or translate according to your understanding of the character's psyche?  

Both. History informs but the psyche breathes life into the character. 

While staging a historical play, such as the one you're doing now, what can you not tamper/alter with?

Facts. They are unchangeable.  

An adage goes  "History is written by the victors", keeping that in mind, do you think that Noor Jahan was a victim of falsified claims? Was she projected in the right way?

As a woman she had a special place in our minds and especially a successful woman who held her own with the men of her time and came off better. But to better understand the times we needed to also see how the under-class lived, so the invention of the character of the Royal courier.

What's your earliest theatre memory? How old were you when you saw your first play? Do you remember the name?

Siraj ud Daulah at Ballygunge Government High School where Satyajit Ray had also studied. My cousin was in the play. I was six years old. 


Do you think Indian plays lack innovation? Are we at par with the global standard?

We lack the funds for the infrastructure not to mention actors needing to hold a day job to finance the passion. 

As a veteran thespian, tell me, what is that one quintessential quality i) an actor ii) a director should have, without which it's difficult to make a mark?

Spirit of enquiry, discovery and a childlike innocence. And the ability to do, re-do and do a bit more. The spirit to continue working. As Knut Hamsun once said "Wish life were a series of rehearsals with no show in sight." 


How do you resolve creative differences with an actor or a director?

I need to convince them of the greater good. While directing it is different, the actor already looks up to you, e.g. my Noor Jahan and I didn't see eye to eye on the character's integrity. We agreed to differ, and soon she was won over. As an actor you try and make your point but ultimately give in to the Director's vision. 

Do you have a set rule for picking up a play/script? How do you do it? What do you look into?

There are of course favourite playwrights, but it must challenge me. And have something to symbolically sink my teeth into. Ultimately, does it make sense in my social milieu? So will it work for my audiences. 
 

What do you make of your host (Centre Stage Creations) and the host city? How's the crowd here?  

Clued in theatre-wise, it's a pleasure to have someone who is tuned to theatre. Wonderful initiative that they bring theatre from countrywide to Kolkata. The city is my alma mater as far as theatre goes and I've grown up in the Group Theatre movement there. It oriented my vision and prepared me to play a more inclusive role. So for me it's a proud homecoming. Audience change, but Kolkata has always been an informed, interactive audience, that doesn't even spare the big names. I've been privy to mass criticism of Ravi Shankar and forcing him to re-play a raga. 

How do you tackle off the script (improvised) scenes? What should an actor do when thrown into such a situation? 

Enjoy it and swim with the tide! 

 

 

Image: Avijit Dutt's image from FB page of Yatrik Cultural and Dramatics Society