The world of ‘cultural mafia’ captured on stage

Page4, it’s also a game’ was a play penned down by Bratya Basu in 2005, and staged in 2006 by the theatre group ‘Ganakrishti’.  The play has been re-staged after 10 years by another theatre group, Institute of Factual Theatre Arts (IFTA) headed by Debasish Dutta, a student and a scholar of Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2016. 

The storyline involves a battle between two cultural mafias, Girdharilal and Mohandas who are in control of different literary and cultural zones. The word ‘mafia’ is a commonly used parlance but the phrase ‘cultural mafia’ creates an interesting overtone. 

The two cultural mafias were friends who had shared their cultural dreams and creativity with each other before they were trapped in the web of ambition, fame and power. They separated from each other to establish their cultural hegemony in terms of controlling central grants, winning state favours, possessing power to make decisions related to hall bookings and arranging book fair, control over cultural institutions, etc. 

They were self-proclaimed ‘dons’ embracing the cultural façade to execute the art of literary nepotism, plagiarism, royalty sharing in the style of a corporate mafia. It is an absorbing tale of the two dons fighting for establishing their pre-eminence in the cultural world at any cost. This dominance is obviously associated with economic well-being and high status of writers, poets, other fame-seekers who are the natural cohorts of these cultural empires. 

The playwright reveals the emotions of jealousy, revenge, mean mindedness and ego clash with cultural figures of eminence, literally clawing into each other to win their share of fame and money. The narrative continues at the den of the don, Girdharilal, whose cultural power is not without strong links with state administration, local police, political leaders and even the ministers in power. 

The play unmasks the intellectual veil of the ‘bhadrolok’ society to reflect the ethical void of celebrities, making the play amazingly germane not only to the present context, but also cutting across space and time. The message seems to be clear - success cannot come with sheer talent and creative potential alone. 

It is a battle between those who can play the game of shrewdness, ferocity and sheer violence.  The strategies have to be drawn with finesse, the judgment has to be sharp. The way to the crest has to be reached with intelligence, grit and determination and of course by removing all those who act as obstacles in the path to success. But not all is drawn in the colour scheme of black and white. The complex human side of the ‘don’ Girdharilal is visible when he helps the needy to get grants, commissions, and earn their daily economic needs. He reveals revulsion towards his professional world when he refuses to allow his children to enter his business, even when his son seems to be emotionally moved by reading Bibhutibhusan’s Chander Pahar. His emotional traits and vulnerabilities are laid bare to the maximum when the play reaches the climax and the two dons, Girdharilal and Mohandas, meet. They reminisce over their golden past of togetherness by speaking their heart out on their dreams; they recite plays under the moonlit night, and unhesitatingly admit their love and obsession for each other’s creation.

The director, Debasish Dutta added, ‘The thought process of the persons involved with theatre has changed with time. They are now actively participating in the rat race for their survival. They do not mind even removing the obstacle which comes in the way. It is frightening to see the person closest to you have fallen in this vicious cycle. It has not even spared the creative world. The conflict of the interchanging face and the fascia in the changing society disturbs me a lot. The play exactly depicts the same’.  

The playwright also expressed his confidence on this young director. The veracity of the play written way back is still so pertinent that it rekindles the scheme of corruption at the cultural level, which people face every moment but there are a very few who raise their voice against it. Certainly Bratya Basu’s play is a satirical anecdote which helps in taking off the hypocritical façade of the cultural empire and it is a bold attempt by a young director to bring the topic back in contention.