Rangmanch ran a second houseful show of its Bengali play Agyatobash on public demand at Spotlight Theatre in Papatoetoe on October 2.Agyatobash is written by Harimadhab Mukhopadhyay from Balughat, West Bengal, India, and has been adapted as a screenplay for the stage for the very first time.
The family drama revolves around Jayanta Roy (Ujjal Ghosh), a secret agent for the government, who, after being kidnapped by the enemies and declared dead, resurfaces from oblivion after 30 years of captivity. Jayanta’s wife Kanta Roy (Malabika Bhaduri),after a failed pursuit of her husband, marries a professor, Subinoy Ghosh (Pallab Dasgupta), and leads a normal family life with her three children.
Jayanta is asked to start a new life by the CBI as he prepares to rejoin his family back in Kolkata, unaware of his wife’s second marriage and her new family. The news creates havoc, reluctance and spate of unrest amongst Kanta and her kids initially, although Subinoy remains calm and decides to face the crisis.
Jayanta’s biological son Tarapada Roy (Kuntal Basak) tries to evade the situation only to realise later what he has been missing all his life and breaks down embracing his father.
The play evokes some very strong emotions, in a way that the audience find an intimate connection with the characters. Simple yet hard-hitting dialogues, power-fuelled performances, and a strong storyline take the viewers on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.
Jayanta has an intuition that his ghostly appearance would disturb the unanimity of the family and chooses to move back into the darkness of the abyss.
“I am overwhelmed with grief and empathy, I feel like I have a strong bond with Jayanta Roy (central character of the play),” exclaimed an audience member after the play. 4/5 stars.