Review - Akoopar

કૈક હોય તો જ કૈક આવે.. ગર્યમાં ગર્યો ઈ ગર્યો... સાવજ
જેવું કોઈ ખાનદાન જનાવર જડે નઈ!!!

A complete theater with a story, script, actions,
lights, music, properties and above all a soul! Akoopar is one such play with
its heart and soul rooted at the right place!

I watched Akoopar at Tahkorbhai Desai hall on 30^th November
2013. I was indeed mesmerized for most part through it and a long time after
it. To me, it was another notebook example of a complete theater. Akoopar has
all that is needed for an overall theatrical experience: A heart touching
story, well-researched script, talented actors, wholesome set, soothing music,
vibrant dances, engaging lights, appropriate, adequate and subtle properties,
and above all the heart of the play rooted at right place. 

It is indeed interesting to note the director’s (Aditiben Desai’s)
audacious attempt of Akoopar from two perspectives. First, it involved moving
straight from Kasturba, a tale of larger than life character, to Akoopar, a
story of tribal living in the middle of the jungle. This meant a complete
switch of genre from a historical play to an almost alien territory, in terms
of content and form, of Gir. This, to me, reflects amazing range of this
director through which she can sail so easily and effectively.  Second, it is indeed courageous to open such
an ‘experiment’ play as a commercial venture straight at a commercial
auditorium. My very limited understanding of the economics of Ahmedabad-based Theater
can easily tell me that it is commercially a very challenging proposition to open
and run play like Akoopar in a purely commercial way, without subsidies.  Kudos to the director and the producers for
setting a trend that other can follow. 

I belong to Bhavnagar and thus it was delight to listen to rustic dialect
of Saurasthra throughout the play. Being a native of the Saurashtra peninsula, I could
relate to most of the dialect used in the play and that made it easier for me
to enjoy the play. However, for many Gujarati urban brought-ups, it would be
difficult to follow the pace of the play, at times, as it may be difficult for
them to appreciate the dialect that has been used in the play. This limitation
apart, and as the character of Dorothy puts so aptly in the play, words were
not always needed to convey the emotion of the play. The play used many other
tools than mere dialogues to convey what it needed to in those two and half
hours. 

I have not read the novel as of yet and thus it was altogether new
experience for me to appreciate the content as well.  The lives of Maldharis of
Gir are something that not many Gujarati, leave apart Indians, would be
aware of.  With literature of Meghani slowly fading away in the horizons of the
Gujarati youth, the tale of the ‘Shura, Sati and Sant’ of Saurashtra is becoming
elusive.  Reading as a habit is also becoming
passé these days and thus, play like Akoopar gives hope in the form of popular
culture that can reach out to the youth to remind them of the life, that is very
different than theirs, exist somewhere
close to them.  The concept of community living among humans, as well as of
humans with other elements of nature has so very well been portrayed in
this play. Without revealing the content of the play, I would definitely recommend
this to all nature lovers, wildlife enthusiast and those interested in society and
people, in general. 

The stage craft needs a special mention as I was quite thrilled at the
design that created the feel of a ‘nes’ – hamlet of Maldharis in Gir –
surrounded by river, jungle, animals, and also a railway track. The limited
stage-space and the six wings were appropriately used to create a wholesome feel
of the jungle and lives in it. The life-size backdrop image was aesthetically
made and used, along with other cutouts to create the environment. Another special mention is of sounds and
music. Although not once there was an animal presented on stage, their presence
was assured through real-life sounds, so effectively used and operated.  At one
instance, the attack of a lion on one of the character looked so real because the
acting was so nicely aided with sound effects.  The music added to the vibrancy
of the play. The script had in it all emotions and associated display of
community living attached to those emotions.  The music, including folk-songs of
various occasions, blended so well with the storytelling, to ensure a wholesome
theatrical experience. The energetic dance performance of male and female
actors kind of completed the visual experience.

All actors performed their part to the hilt.  I cannot resist mentioning the character of
the blind charan that was portrayed so passionately by Mayur Chauhan. This
young boy is Cheteshwar Pujara of Indian theater; He is full of talent and I am sure has
a long way to go.  The girl Sansai,
played by Kalpana Gagdekar and the protagonist played by Nisarg Trivedi
also leave their long lasting impression. While others too acted very well, the
lions – all with their names – also were almost like characters of the play. 

Use of local dialect and a length of around 2.5 hours apart, the play is
very refreshing take on emotional aspect of human-nature-animal coexistence and
a must watch for all of us who love and appreciate theater, nature, animal and
Gir. 

A very sensitive but entertaining attempt, Akoopar is yet another landmark
play from Aditi Desai – Kalpana Gagdekar duo (for a change in the show that I
watch Abhinay Banker was also doing a replacement act for Dhanu!) after
Kasturba. We look forward to the third one, which I am sure will raise the bar
further up for theater fraternity of Ahmedabad.