Shyamanand Jalan
Shyamanand Jalan | |
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Padatik (1972) theatre group |
Shyamanand Jalan (13 January 1934 – 24 May 2010) was a
As an actor in stage plays, he appeared as the don in
He co-founded theatre group Anamika in 1955,
Early life and education
Born in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, to a Kolkata-based
Career
Early career and Anamika years
Jalan started his career as a lawyer and subsequently headed a legal firm in Kolkata, and at the same time also worked both as a theatre actor and director.[citation needed]
He started his acting career with play Naya Samaj in 1949, followed by Samasya (1951) directed by Tarun Roy in 1951. He directed his play Ek Thi Rajkumari (1953), a children's play, written by Roy, in Hindi. This was followed by Konark (1954) by Jagdish Chandra Mathur and Chandragupta (1955) by Seth Govind Das. He continued to act in most of his plays, sometimes playing the lead and even into his later years.[citation needed]
He was the first theatre director to recognise the plays of
His other plays include Kauva Chala Hans ki Chal, Gyandev Agnihotri's Shuturmurg (Ostrich) (1967) and a production of Romanian playwright Mihail Sebastian's Breaking News as Chhapte chhapte (Going to Print) in 1963, in the arena format.
His production displayed his respect for the script as he didn't alter a word, and over the year he started a collaborative approach towards his productions with the playwright, a new trend in Indian theatre. He often invited playwrights to the rehearsals, Mohan Rakesh who had been sceptical to excessive directorial influence on the integrity of the drama-in-performance, spent three weeks with the group, in Kolkata ahead of the 1966 production of Lehron Ke Rajhans, and even rewrote the third act several times, completed two days before the opening night of the production, and revised it yet again before its publication in late 1966,[11][12] and in time it became one of the important productive playwright-director relationship in Indian theatre.[13] While working on Evam Indrajit he extensively collaborated with Sircar.[14]
He co-founded theatre group Anamika in 1955 with Pratibha Aggarwal, a Hindi writer and a great granddaughter of
Padatik
He co-established the impresario institution Anamika Kala Sangam in 1967.[17] Subsequently, along with his wife Chetana Jalan, the well-known Kathak dancer and stage actress, and actor Kulbhushan Kharbanda, he left Anamika in 1971 and established Padatik (literally foot-soldier) theatre group in 1972, of which he was the founding director. This gave him a chance to venture into bolder themes, like those in Vijay Tendukar's plays like Gidhade (The Vultures) (1973) and Sakharam Binder (1979), and
Along with his wife he founded Padatik dance school in Kolkata, for classical as well as contemporary dance.
He also acted in Bengali productions, like Tughlaq (1972), a Bengali version of
He translated plays by
In 2005, he directed first and only film Eashwar Mime Co., an adaptation of
Nearly 42 years after he first presented Mohan Rakesh's Lehron Ke Rajhans, he presented a new version, at the Bharat Rang Mahotsav of the National School of Drama in 2009, to critical acclaim. The brochure of play reproduced two letters, one written by Jalan asking the playwright for clarifications and guidelines, and in the second the reply of Rakesh two months later, in fact after their discussions he rewrote third act.[14][27]
He died after a long illness at Kolkata on 24 May 2010, survived by his wife and six children.[14]
Legacy
His film Eashwar Mime Co., based on the art of
On 4 December 2010, a book Shyamanand Jalan: A Pictorial Tribute by Madhuchhanda Chatterjee, was released at Rabindra Sadan, Kolkata, followed by excerpts of some plays directed by him, enacted by actors he trained, or organised by Anamika Kala Sangam and Padatik. Also presented was Remembering Shyamanand by Rajinder Nath, Samik Bandyopadhyay, Pratibha Agrawal & others and a homage by Padatik, and 5th a Seminar titled, Kolkata Hindi Theatre and Shyamanand Jalan was held at the venue followed by a screening of excerpts from his works.[32]
The 13th
Productions
- Ek Thi Rajkumari (1953)
- Konark (1954)
- Chandragupta (1955)
- Naye hath (New Hands) (1957)
- Janta ka Shatru (An Enemy of the People) (1959)
- Ashadh Ka Ek Din (One Day in Ashad) (1960)[35]
- Ghare Baire(Home and Outside) (1961)
- Chhapte chhapte (Going to Print) (1963)
- Lehron Ke Rajhans (Swans of the Waves) (1966)[35]
- Shuturmurg (Ostrich) (1967)
- Evam Indrajit (One more Indrajit) (1968)
- Adhe Adhure (Halfway House) (1970)
- Pagla Ghora (Mad Horse) (1971)
- Tughlaq (1972)
- Gidhade (The Vultures) (1973)
- Hazar Chaurasi Ki Ma (Mother of 1084) (1978)
- Sakharam Binder (1979)
- Sakuntala (1980)
- Panchi Aise Aate Hain (Thus Arrive the Birds) (1981)
- Uddhwasta Dharmashala (A Man in Dark Times) (1982)
- Kanyadan (1987)
- Ramkatha Ram-Kahani (1995)
- Madhavi (2006)
- Lehron Ke Rajhans – New Version (2009)
- Ek Tha Jalan- The Horse-od Version (2012)
References
- ^ a b c "Capturing Jalan's journey". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 28 January 2011. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011.
- ^ ISBN 1-85109-636-1.
- ^ a b Tripathi, Shailaja (4 June 2010). "Remembering Jalan". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d "Not lost in translation: Bengal's Hindi thespian turns to cinema". The Indian Express. 6 October 2005.[dead link]
- ^ "SNA: List of Akademi Awardees". Sangeet Natak Akademi Official website. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
- ^ a b c "Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi: Condolence Resolution". Sangeet Natak Akademi. 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011.
- ^ a b c "Shyamanand Jalan's death condoled". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 26 May 2010. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011.
- ^ "Interview". Mainstream. 33 (28–52). N. Chakravarty: 28. 1995.
- ^ "Shyamanand Jalan: Eminenet theatre actor Shyamanand Jalan dead | Kolkata News - Times of India". The Times of India. 25 May 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-231-14424-7.
- ^ Dharwadker, p. 89
- ISBN 978-0-8166-4996-9.
- ^ Dharwadker, p. 62
- ^ a b c d "Eminent theatre actor Shyamanand Jalan dead". The Times of India. 25 May 2010. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011.
- ^ Dharwadker, p. 440
- ^ a b "Calcutta, home to Hindi Theatre". The Hindu. 29 October 1997. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011.
- ^ "Profile". Anamika Kala Sangam website. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011.
- ISBN 0-07-079169-4.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Dharwadker, p. 397
- ^ Sunil Kothari (29 May 2010). "Tribute: Shyamanand Jalan". nartaki.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011.
- ISBN 0-8122-1225-8.
- ^ Dharwadker, p. 245
- ^ Asian Theatre Program (University and College Theatre Association); Project Muse (1985). Asian Theatre Journal. 2–3. University of Hawaii Press: 217.
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(help) - ^ Dharwadker, p. 447
- ISBN 81-7017-374-4.
- ^ a b "Special screening of Jalan's film". The Times of India. 24 September 2010. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012.
- ^ "The wonder of words: A chat with theatre doyen Shyamanand Jalan". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 12 January 2009. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012.
- ^ "Padatik presents film premiere: Eashwar Mime Co". narthaki.com. 25 July 2010. Archived from the original on 11 March 2011.
- ^ "Talking silence". Business Standard. 11 July 2010. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011.
- The Telegraph (Kolkata). Calcutta, India. 19 September 2010. Archived from the originalon 29 June 2011.
- ^ "Ayesha Nair to get Jalan theatre award". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 13 January 2011. Archived from the original on 26 January 2011.
- The Telegraph (Kolkata). Calcutta, India. 4 December 2010. Archived from the originalon 29 June 2011.
- ^ "Delhi gears up for mega winter theatre festival". CNN-IBN. 5 January 2011. Archived from the original on 2 March 2011.
- ^ "High honour for Shyamanand Jalan". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 20 January 2011. Archived from the original on 8 March 2011.
- ^ a b Dharwadker, p. 401
- Aparna Bhargava Dharwadker (2005). Theatres of independence: drama, theory, and urban performance in India since 1947. University of Iowa Press. ISBN 0-87745-961-4.
Further reading
- Sushil Kumar Mukherjee (1982). The story of the Calcutta theatres, 1753–1980. K.P. Bagchi.
- Sangeet Natak Akademi (1989). Contemporary Indian theatre: interviews with playwrights and directors. Sangeet Natak Akademi. p. 74.
- Shyamanand Jalan: A Pictorial Tribute by Madhuchhanda Chatterjee. 2010.
- Remembering Shyamanand by Rajinder Nath, Samik Bandyopadhyay, Pratibha Agrawal & others.2010.
External links
- Shyamanand Jalan at IMDb
- Padatik, Official website
- Shyamananda Jalan: Living through the theatre
- "The wonder of words: A chat with theatre doyen Shyamanand Jalan". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 12 January 2009. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012.