Documenting stage-plays in DVD format
Bhavna Records and Cassettes have taken a novel challenge of documenting stage-plays in DVD format. Perhaps the first venture of this kind, the organisation has taken up two monologues by Bijoylakshmi Barman. The plays are 'Jaara Brishtite Bhijechhilo' and 'Jajnaseni Agnikanya'.
On November 18, the DVD's will be released at Madhusudan Mansha. For the same, Bhavna Records is organising a unique programme with Bijoylakshmi's two monologues and release of the two DVD albums. The event will start at 4 pm with the first play 'Jaara Brishtite Bhijechhilo', followed by the release of DVD's and second play 'Jajnaseni Agnikanya', which will be staged at 7 pm.
The content of the plays is very different from one another. The first one is the story of a thirty-year-old girl whose life has known no light. An ordinary girl who suffers under the male dominance for thirty years gathers the courage to protest and voice her own feeling. On the other hand, 'Jajnaseni Agnikanya' revolves round Draupadi of the Mahabharata. Bijoylakshmi easily glides through these two stories comprising several characters.
Bijoylakshmi started her career in the seventies. Amidst all the turmoil, a new cultural stream was coming to focus, slowly but steadily. Bengali recitation competitions were organised by the local libraries and clubs in almost every locality in and around Kolkata. Aspiring elocutionists flocked there. Among them was a young girl, a college student then who always fought for the first prize.
The competition and prize phase, spreading over a span of five to six years, was followed by an arduous fight to gain her ground as a reciter. Bijoylakshmi soon felt an urge to do something more than just performing for a few minutes in some recitation programme. That urge was fulfilled when she came in touch with theatre. To her utter satisfaction, acting and recitation – her specialisations - met at one point when she staged 'Jaara Brishtite Bhijechhilo', a novel in lyric, that was never 'dramatised' for staging.
In the wake of staging her first monologue, appreciations came with almost an equal amount of criticism. Over the years though, criticisms died a natural death. The show went on.
The show was invited to Kuwait. Bijoylakshmi was not very sure whether the story revolving around an ordinary girl would attract the audience of the oil-rich country. It was appreciated alright but her doubts were not cleared. A few months passed. It was the show of another play in Kolkata. A lady rushed in after the show and asked eagerly – wasn't it you who came to Kuwait with 'Jaara Brishtite Bhijechhilo?' It was a heart – wrenching presentation. Tears welled up and she almost ran out. Amazing!
In Toronto, it rained throughout the day and the temperature outside was almost zero degrees Celsius. But the house was full and the performance got a standing ovation. The next was in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. A young woman cried her heart out and had to be consoled. Surprisingly, second-generation youngsters were very impressed in both the cities. The language was sometimes a bar for them but the acting broke all barriers. A lady in Dhaka wiped the tires from Bijoylakshmi's eyes and said she won't let one drop be wasted.
As Draupadi also, Bijoylakshmi has attracted the attention of the audience. This play also was staged in Kuwait. The secretary of the Bengali Association there exclaimed that he thought he was watching no actress, but Draupadi herself.
Bijoylakshmi has acted in almost all media – stage, radio, television, film. She recites, takes recitation classes and conducts programmes. Her first CD of recitation came out in 2014. It was a collection of Tagore poems – 'Anande', followed by 'Koutuke Rabindranath', 'Mele di Pakha'; 'Khapchhara' and 'Hare Rere Rere', with her little students. All these were released by Bhavna Records and Cassettes.
