Playwright and director Sanjoy Sarker Muktonil said that theatre had the strength to question the establishment by enlightening people, and, therefore, the ruling class always wanted to oppress theatre activities.
鈥楾heatre is a strong combined art, which enlightens people and inspires them to raise questions. The ruling class wants to keep common people in the dark so that none questions the establishment,鈥� said Muktonil, who added that as theatre reflected society and state, he wanted to tell stories depicting people鈥檚 sorrows, their questions and their gruesome situations through plays.
Muktonil, who is the founder and president of Batighar Theatre, gained acclaim for writing and directing politically charged plays, including 鈥楻adcliffe Line鈥�, 鈥楬imur Kolpito Diary鈥�, 鈥楳onkey Trial鈥�, 鈥楤hogoban Paliye Gechhe鈥�, 鈥楶arabola鈥� and others.
Muktonil also talked about his involvement in cultural activities.
Born and raised in a culturally inclined family in Natore, he got involved in cultural activities at a young age joining the children鈥檚 organisation Khelaghar.
After passing the Secondary School Certificate examinations, Muktonil came to Dhaka and joined Ddhoni Chitra as a sound engineer and later joined the theatre troupe Desh Natak to pursue his passion for theatre.
鈥榃hen I was a member of Desh Natak, I realised the strength of theatre. It is a strong medium that enables one to get close to people,鈥� said Muktonil, adding that he came to know different aspects of theatre activities and theatre activists during his days at Desh Natak.
After a certain time, he started thinking about whether art was for art鈥檚 sake or art was for people鈥檚 sake and he left the troupe.
鈥楾heatre activists have not been able to become economically established in the country because theatre activities are considered volunteer work. Therefore, they do not have a choice but to pursue different professions for their survival,鈥� mentioned Muktonil.
He took a break for seven years to lay the foundation for his theatre career, said Muktonil.
Founded in 2011, Batighar Theatre brought the third theatrical production and first full-length play Urnajal to the stage portraying how religion could be subjected to misinterpretation and could be used by people with dishonest intentions.
He said, 鈥業 think irrational fear exists in the theatre sector of the country. Art practice in the country is very much disconnected from the people nowadays. People want to see the reflection of their life and reality in different productions,鈥� said Muktonil, adding that it was the audience who chose the route of Batighar during its journey.
To explain it, Muktonil said that the troupe brought 鈥極likhito Upakhyan鈥� based on Rizia Rahman鈥檚 literary work, adapted and directed by Muktonil, to the stage. The production was a good one according to the theatre critics but he observed that people did not receive the play like Urnajal.
Therefore, Muktonil gradually brought 鈥楻adcliffe Line鈥�, 鈥楬imur Kolpito Diary鈥�, 鈥楳onkey Trial鈥�, 鈥楤hogoban Paliye Gechhe鈥� and 鈥楶arabola鈥� to the stage depicting the stories of people鈥檚 sorrows, their questions and their gruesome situations, mentioned Muktonil.
鈥榃e only produce plays that are relevant to a particular time,鈥� said Muktonil, adding that he thought about writing the play 鈥淩adcliffe Line鈥� when he was at the Bangladesh鈥揑ndia border. He decided to make the play after observing the Indian Border Security Force鈥檚 behaviour towards people.
鈥楾he play 鈥淗imur Kolpito Diary鈥� was written within two days after the death of Nowshad Hasan Himu,鈥� said Muktonil.
Himu, also known as Himaloy Himu, was a young citizen rescuer of Rana Plaza who killed himself by setting himself on fire on the sixth anniversary of the collapse of the building.
Muktonil described that the situation of teachers in the country inspired him to write 鈥楳onkey Trial鈥� and the corruption in the country motivated him to bring 鈥楶arabola鈥� to the stage.
鈥楤atighar from its very beginning is determined to tell stories straightforwardly through plays. Therefore, our plays have been telling stories of life, time and necessity throughout our journey,鈥� ended Muktonil.
