As a part of the
Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Festival, a Hindi play titled Chehre by Usha Ganguli is being staged on 8th November at Ravindra Bharati. The play will begin at 7:30pm.
Chehre is an examination of the vices of alcoholism and violence, and the insecurity, emotional torture and uncertainty it injects into family dynamics. The play tells the story of 5 women – a grandmother, her 2 daughters, and her 2 granddaughters – all victims of circumstance who react differently to cope with their troubled lives.
Usha Ganguly was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan in the year in 1945. She learnt Bharatanatyam, and has a Master's degree in Hindi literature. She started teaching at Bhowanipur Education Society College (Calcutta), in 1970), and also began acting with Sangeet Kala Mandir. She later studied theatre under Tripti Mitra. She formed a group, Rangakarmee, in 1976, that spearheaded a resurgence of Hindi theatre in Calcutta.
Some of her productions are Mannu Bhandari's Mahabhoj (Great Feast) in 1984, Ratnakar Matkari's Lokkatha (Folktale) in 1987, Mahesh Elkunchwar's Holi in 1989, and Rudali (which was dramatized from Mahasweta Devi's story) in 1992. She also translates and adapts plays into Hindi. Rangakarmee regularly takes its repertoire on tours across India and undertakes activities in theatre with under-privileged people.
The cast includes Usha Ganguli, Karuna Srivastav and Senjuti Roy Mukherjee, with the design & direction credited to S M Azhar Alam. The play runs for 70 minutes.
Tickets are priced at Rs. 1,000, Rs. 500 and Rs. 100. Please contact theatrefoundation[at]cineworksindia[dot]com for further details.
