PANAJI: Indian filmmaker Ashoke Viswanathan believes in Badal Sircar’s alternative theatre theory and his film emphasises that ‘the third theatre’ is the best medium to tell your story that might never be told due to financial challenges.
Directed by Ashoke Viswanathan, ‘Badal Sircar & the Alternative Theatre’ has been selected in the Indian Panorama section at the ongoing 52nd IFFI here in Goa. “Badal Sircar – the redoubtable playwright, theatre activist, dialogue writer , film actor and philosopher; was somewhat unsung!,” he asserted at a press conference on Wednesday.
“Badal Sircar emerges as someone who worked outside the mainstream. He didn’t believe in the proscenium theatre. My film is about the theoretical implications of a drama outside the proscenium. Like just here, in the midst of us – a drama in which the actors will not just talk down to the audience but will interact with the audience,” explained Ashoke Viswanathan, who also revealed that he has also reflected criticism towards the legend in the documentary on account of there being those who did not agree or did not believe in Badal Sircar.
“I have stuck to more of his political work. We require the cinema and theatre of this nature to shake up the complacency of upper and middle classes, who are just taking it easy,” remarked the Professor and Head of Department at Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, referring to his observation of Covid-19 becoming an excuse for some people to stand on some people.
When asked what made it a compelling subject for a film, Ashoke Viswanathan said: “When I was studying at FTII, Badal Sircar taught us. We came to understand what ‘the third theatre’ is. You don’t require dialogues, as one character is playing many characters and yet philosophy comes out! I have been thinking about it for so many years. I did the film most importantly because he had a strong theoretical background, and that is – if you don’t have money, but you want to say something then what do you do? So, he has made a theatre in which even without money, you can still do artistic work of great depth.”
Ashoke Viswanathan also hoped that his film can be shown on the OTT platform and also in the traditional forms. He hailed the facility at Nandan – West Bengal Film Centre, that shows documentaries and experimental films, among audiences who pay money to see such films. He saw a big role for digital media as a promoting vehicle for such films.
