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MIR JAFAR

Bratya Basu wears several hats. On Sunday, he wore his dramatist hat with aplomb as his ‘Mir Jafar’ debuted at GD Birla Sabhaghar in association with Sanskriti Sagar and Centre Stage Creations.

The two and a half hour long period piece brought to life the downfall of Nawab Siraj-ud-daula who lost the Battle of Plassey to Robert Clive, thus paving the way for British colonisation.

The key characters included Robert Clive, played by Bratya Basu, Siraj-ud-daula’s widow who chooses to live in a state of mourning by his grave, played by Poulumi Basu, Mir Jafar’s heir Miran, played by Kanchan Mullick and of course, Mir Jafar himself, played by Goutam Halder.

The script did complete justice to the details, bringing out the contours of the that time with characters like the multi-millionaire Jagat Seth, the once prosperous Umichand who is eventually reduced to begging on the streets, Clive’s key aid – Watts and other sundry courtesans.

It is not easy to play the role of a notorious traitor like Mir Jafar, who is not just lusting after power, but wants his ‘Murshidabad er masnad’, i.e. the throne at any cost. Such is his love and devotion to Clive, that he addresses him as his ‘gora beta’ or his fair child! Clive of course, knows his weaknesses very well and uses them to his greatest advantage. Goutam Halder excelled throughout.

There were sub-titles running on screens placed at both ends of the auditorium for those who needed help either with the language or the dialect.

Mir Jafar was a vital chapter in Pre-British Indian history that turned the tide against us and confirmed East Indian Company’s long innings. A chapter that was well enacted, scripted and narrated by Bratyajan.