By Yogita Miharia
Everyone falls in love at least once. What happens to that love is their destiny.
Do you believe in true love? Do you believe in love at first sight? Do you believe in love lasting forever? Romeo & Juliet. Cleopatra & Mark Antony. Napoléon & Josephine. Laila & Majnu. Salim & Anarkali. Shirin & Farhad. These love stories renew and reinforce one’s faith in love… They are the most famous love stories in history and literature! May I add one more to the list of these immortal love stories? (Photos by Foto Duniya)
Devdas & Parvati.
SETU’s upcoming production is bringing to you this eternal love story – “Devdas”. An English stage adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s classic Indian novel. Devdas is a socially relevant drama portraying the patriarchal Indian society of the early twentieth century and the flawed protagonists of a romantic tragedy.
Devdas is a Bengali romance novel published in 1917, written by Saratchandra Chatterjee. The tragic tale of Devdas has become synonymous with a passionate, intense love that never reaches it desired destination. Devdas remains one of the most re-told works of Indian literature, staying relevant for many generation. Yet every time it is told, there is something new it brings to the audience. People have been drawn to its story and the characters, as they find in them their own reflections and share a mutual empathy with them.
Sarat Chandra used his novels to highlight social problems of Indian life. Devdas, is not only a tragic tale of romance but also a deep commentary on socio-cultural issues in India like class, caste or the system of dowry, and many more! It is vibrant enough to paint a vivid picture of institutions like family and marriage and also how they control our dreams and desires in the cycle of life.
SETU’s presentation of “Devdas” will transport the audiences to an early 20th century village in Bengal. Dharmadas, a servant of the Mukherjee household, tells the story as he witnessed everything right in front of his eyes, with his heart bleeding for his favorite Mukherjee son Devdas.
The story begins in a village school, when Devdas and Parvati (Paro) were kids. SETU’s very talented cast of child actors play the roles of early 20th century Indian children with such ease and finesse that it will be a treat to the audience. It will be hard to believe that these children belong to the digital age. In a world filled with special effects, theater stimulates creative imagination, by relying on the audience to imagine a new world based on simple scenes and props.
The SETU child actors bring a breath of fresh air as they incorporate their personalities and innocence into this multi-dimensional entertainment mode. Every character becomes more real when you see them grow up in front of you, that is what the child actors bring to this classic tale on stage.
The story progresses as Devdas and Paro grow up and it is time for Paro to get married. The series of events that follow is what lead to the ultimate tragedy. Devdas, the happy go lucky man becomes a self-destructive Devdas for his forbidden childhood love Paro. He seeks shelter under the love of Chandramukhi but is never able to reciprocate that. His only solace is alcohol, that destroys him further. No one person can be blamed for what happened to Devdas. This tragic triangle will bring tears even to the most unromantic souls.
Grab this opportunity to witness an epic about love, pride, honor, phony society and its dogma. Bring your children to enjoy real time entertainment for a great family experience. There will be 8 shows over two weekends at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, with a double cast of 35 actors and dancers.
Tickets are available at the box office – https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/1005258
Playwright & Direction: Subrata Das
SETU, a local non-profit organization that has staged several successful productions in the past, some being “Rape, Regret and Retribution”, “Hayavadana”, “Shah Jahan”, “Mahabharata”, “Once Upon a Time NOT in Bollywood”, “Ramayana”, “Kamala” and “The Fire and the Rain”. Visit www.setu.us to learn more about SETU’s productions.
“Have you ever had a drink and dedicated it to your unfulfilled love?”
DEVDAS Cast
Narayan Mukherjee: Nilay Mukherjee / Sanjay Kudrimoti
Harimoti: Yogita Miharia / Ananya Chatterjee
Devdas (Deva): Sridhar Pola / Bhavesh Sharma
Devdas Young: Raj Pola / Vasu Jetly / Ishaan Naik
Dwijadas (Dwija): Srihas Sampath / Kedar Chaudhari
Kumud: Meenakshi Kumar / Vasudha Kudrimoti
Dharmadas: Rohit Chandra / Mahesh Palriwala
Nilkantha Chakravarty: Ravi Nimmagadda / Rishi Naik (*)
Khurima” Priya Samant Parulekar / Roshni Sangeeta Tandon
Parvati (Paru): Shamita Behl / Sumalita Bhuyan
Parvati Young: Shefali Bakre / Isabel Rana / Arshia Sharma
Thakuma: Parul Kumar / Kumkum Pareek Malik
Bhuvan Choudhury: Thomas Arul / Sundar Sivaraman
Mahendra (Mahen): Ketan Benegal / Gaurav Jetly
Yashoda: Purbi Rana / Shubha Vijayesh (*)
Jalad: Anu Sharma / Monisha Prakash (*)
Chandramukhi: Saimanti Das / Sugandha Gopal
Kshetramani: Shweta Shangari / Queenal Vrishani (*)
Chunilal: Ravi Nimmagadda / Rishi Naik / Nilay Mukherjee
Dancers One,Two,Three,Four: Meenakshi, Nishtha, Purbi, Shweta /
Vasudha, Pallavi, Shubha, Queenal
Monorama (Mono): Arti Joshi Arora / Meghna Karody
Monorama Young: Arshia Sharma / Anya Bhandari
Lakshmi: Nishtha Saxena / Pallavi Gupta (*)
Govinda: Thomas Arul / Sundar Sivaraman (*)
Bholanath (Bhulo): Vasu Jetly / Raj Pola
Baul Singer & Dancers: Sachi Badola, Anu Sharma, Monisha Prakash
Bindu: Susmita Ghosh
Radha: Priya Samant Parulekar / Roshni Sangeeta Tandon (*)
Bhairav(i): Parul Kumar / Kumkum Pareek Malik (*)
Kebalram (Kali): Arshia Sharma / Anya Bhandari (*)
Driver: Nilay Mukherjee / Sanjay Kudrimoti (*)
Dayal: Srihas Sampath / Kedar Chaudhari (*)
(/) Double casting
(*) Dual role
DEVDAS Production Team
Costume Lead: Jayanti Bandyopadhyay
Stage Design Lead: Rohini Pola
Marketing & Publicity Lead: Nirmal Kumar
Makeup Lead: Susmita Ghosh
Light & Sound Lead: Prateek Paul
Music Lead: Nilay Mukherjee
Choreographers: Vasudha Kudrimoti and Monisha Prakash
Photography and Video: Sanjay Kudrimoti and Krishan Aneja (Fotu Duniya),
Ganesh Davuluri, Thomas Arul
Posters: Krishan Aneja and Sanjay Kudrimoti (Fotu Duniya),
Vandana Tiwari Sharma, Kabita Das, Manreet Kwatra
Production Team:
Dipali Trivedi, Ganesh Davuluri, Gautam Bandyopadhyay, Gopika Narula, Gunjan Kuthiala, Janique Choux-Das, Jayanti Bandyopadhyay, Kachan Thareja Bhatti, Krishan Aneja, Lata Parwani, Madhu Mathur Anand, Nirmal Kumar, Noorain Buxamusa, Pradeep Jayachandran, Prateek Paul, Princy Agarwal, Rashi Dua, Ridhima Mahajan Bhuttan, Rohini Pola, Ruchi Suhane, Susmita Ghosh.
Masters of Ceremony:
Dipali Trivedi, Gopika Narula, Kachan Thareja Bhatti, Lata Parwani, Noorain Buxamusa, Princy Agarwal, Purvi Shah, Rashi Dua, Ridhima Mahajan Bhuttan, Ruchi Suhane.
