With the performance of Bijon Bhattacharya’s Nabanna (New Harvest, 1944) based on the famine of 1943, the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) and its Bengali counterpart, the Gana Natya, gave Bengali theatre a much needed fresh lease of life and drew the audience’s attention with its political message. The Gana Natya and its successors, the group theatres, have performed in West Bengal and their productions have been closely related to the evolving socio-political and cultural scenario in the state since the 1940s. From its inception, the Gana Natya explored theatre as a powerful media of communication and political socialization as opposed to traditional theatre which exploited it only as a form of entertainment. Although there has been much experimentation in the form of political theatre (most probably in the plays of Badal Sircar and Mohit Chattopadhyay) and many non-ideological theatrical explorations into the psyche of oppression and suffering undergone by the spirit on its own way to liberation and revolution (in the Naba Natya plays that started with Shambhu Mitra’s group, ‘Bohurupee’); theatre critics have kept the determinants of political theatre as ideology-governed, adhering to certain norms and codes. In the history of modern Bengali theatre, Manoj Mitra (1938-2024) occupies a unique space, straddling both the ‘people’s theatre’ (the Gana Natya) and ‘the new theatre’ (the Naba Natya), his style arising from a distinctive philosophy of being.
Manoj Mitra has written about seventy plays and film-scripts and is famous for his lead roles in films by Satyajit Ray, Tapan Sinha, Basu Chatterjee and others. Mitra started his career as a theatre actor in 1957 and made his film debut in 1979. He served as a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at New Alipore College till 1987. He taught Philosophy at various colleges before becoming the Head of Drama Department at Rabindra Bharati University. He has been Sisir Kumar Bhaduri Professor of Drama at RBU. Many of his plays – Chak Bhanga Modhu (Honey from a Broken Hive, 1969), Banchharamer Bagan (Banchharam’s Orchard, 1977), Kinu Kaharer Theatre (Kinu Kahar’s Theatre, 1988), Galpo Hekimshaheb (The Tale of Hekimshaheb, 1992) – belong to the realm of people’s theatre without adhering to the codes of political theatre.
Manoj Mitra’s major plays showcased his concerns about the marginalized community. He attempted to release the category of the ‘political’ with its understanding of power, violence, revolution, liberation from the ideology-governed confines of the political theatre. His major contribution to Bengali theatre was the negotiation between traditional and modern theatrical forms in post-Partition Bengal. His plays are distinguished by their masterful blend of farce and fantasy to address complex social and political issues. Unlike the overtly political theatre of his contemporaries, his style focuses on the dilemmas and resilience of the common man, using wit and dark comedy to critique power structures. He is famous for using ‘laughter as a weapon’. He employs farcical situations – such as the elderly Bancharam outliving a greedy landlord in Sajano Bagan – to expose the cruelty of the elite without being preachy. His narratives often weave real-lived experiences with the inexplicable or fantastical. Plays like Narak Guljar and Sriman Abhutapurbo use whimsy and mythical elements to highlight modern injustices. He often centres his stories on marginalized or ‘misfit’ characters – the elderly, outcasts, or simple villagers – imbued with a deep sense of human dignity. Even his villains are rarely ‘all black’ – possessing nuanced psychological depth. His dialogue is noted for its rhythmic, almost poetic quality, particularly in plays like Sajano Bagan, where simple rural speech is elevated to high art. Mitra often experimented with theatrical techniques like direct address, rhyming dialogue, and minimal sets, relying heavily on lighting, sound, and the actor's immersion to create an impact. A recurring motif is the role of ‘conscience’ – not just as a moral sense, but as a broader consciousness that transcends standard political binaries.
Manoj Mitra was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in 1980 for the film, Bancharamer Bagan (written by him and directed by Tapan Sinha), the Sangeet Natak award (1985), the Asiatic Society Award (2005) and Dinabandhu Puraskar (2012) for his overall contribution to theatre. Mitra passed away at the age of eighty-six on November 12, 2024. One distinctive quality of his art, according to National Award-winning actor of stage and screen Sohini Sengupta, was that, while having a background in theatre, he had no hesitation about appearing in movies, something that many theatre professionals struggle with. ‘Everyone knows him for Bancharamer Bagan, but he worked in various genres of the performing arts; tried his hand at various mediums, including jatra (folk theatre of Bengal) and television, and excelled in all of them. An actor’s constant endeavour is to connect with everyone; and the greatest aspect of Manoj Mitra’s craft was the easy manner in which he could communicate and connect with the audience. He was one actor who used his eyes a lot in his acting. His eyes were always alive to the scene,’ Sengupta told Frontline. Mitra was a philosophy student who had retired as the Sisir Kumar Bhaduri Professor of Drama from Rabindra Bharati University. She also noted that his ability to move fluidly between the academic and performing arts domains was another distinctive feature of his craft. ‘I knew him very well, and was always in awe of the ease with which he would switch from his studies to playing a villain in a television series,’ said Sengupta.
Manoj Mitra will be remembered as a towering figure in contemporary Bengali theatre, who served as a renowned playwright, director, and actor known for his use of wit, satire and humour to highlight social issues, the lives of the oppressed and the nuances of human nature. His works blended traditional folk elements with modern storytelling, often centring on the struggles of the common person against corruption and social norms.
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