Rupankar as Salilda is perfect: Debajyoti Mishra

Debajyoti Mishra speaks to CT about his new musical theatre
Your latest musical theatre, Ahoban Shono Ahoban, is based on the life of Salil Chowdhury...
Yes, but it doesn't give the complete picture. Salil Chowdhury is like an ocean and we have taken incidents of his life and woven them into a story . While writing the script, I assembled the most important parts of his life. But, I must say it was a challenge to capture such a dynamic person in just two hours.
So, it's a tribute to your guru...
Salil Chowdhury was not only a musician but a filmmaker, a social activist and a political activist. I don't know any other musician in the country with such versa tility. As a musician and theatre artiste, I always wanted to capture his life and work and the musical theatre came across as a great idea. We have combined his personal life with his musical creations; there's also an insight into his political ideology. While writing the script, I was clear from the beginning that I would mix the political and musical sides of Salilda.
How did you manage to do that?
The script has developed in a non-linear manner. We have constantly played with time. For example, right after showing an incident from his childhood, he have shifted focus to his political life. Besides, no one actor is playing Salilda alone. Rupankar Bagchi is both himself and Salilda in the musical theatre. Sujan `Neel' Mukherjee is both himself and the inner voice of Salilda.
Most of Salil Chowdhury's songs have multiple layers. How have you used them?
The play has 24 songs and most have an underlying meaning. The romantic songs talk about revolution and the songs of revolution talk about love. I did not face much difficulty using the songs, because all of them represent life. And since, through the play , I am portraying life (of Salil Chowdhury), they naturally fit into the script.
Apart from Sujan and Koneenica, the musical theatre features Rupankar, who is a singer and not an actor...
Since this is a musical theatre, I decided to take a musician to play the lead. The actor needed to understand the delicate bits of Salilda's life, which are enacted with songs. Besides, most people are unaware of the fact that Rupankar is a very good actor and he has great interest in theatre. Rupankar was the best possible option for me.