BABUJI
Story : Mithileshwar
Adaptation: Vibhanshu Vaibhav
Director : Rajesh Singh
Group : NSD Repertory Company, New Delhi
Language : Hindi
Duration : 120 Mins.
Date : 01, 07 & 11 Feb. 2025
Play : Babuji
In a way, Babuji plays represent every person in our society who wants to live life with his own freedom and conditions. The protagonist of the play, Babuji, is a hero who wants to keep the artist inside him alive along with social responsibilities in his life. His mind is engrossed in folk drama like Nautanki, but due to his love for this drama, his own family life is also shattered. He is thrown out of his own house. Despite all this, the beat of the tabla and the echo of the harmonium remain with him till his last breath.
Playwright
Mithileshwar is a well-known name in Hindi story. Born on 31 December 1950 in Baisadih village of Bhojpur district in Bihar, India, he is a Hindi writer famous for writing on rural areas of India. His stories are a poignant portrayal of the psyche of the poor, exploited people in the villages or those going through diverse circumstances in rapidly industrializing modern India.
His major works are- Babuji, Meghna Ka Nirnaya, Harihar Kaka, Chal Khusro Ghar Aapne (story collection) Junia, Yuddhsthal, Prem Na Badi Upaje and Ant Nahi (novel).
Director’s Note
When I thought of doing it with the Repertory, I came to know that this play was performed by Rang Vibhuti Late B.V. Karanth ji for the first time with Shri Ram Center Repertory. He has used the endangered folk and nautanki style in this play.
Nautanki is one of North India’s most popular folk opera theatre forms. Before the advent of Bollywood, Nautanki was the biggest entertainment- medium in the villages and towns of North India. Nautanki’s rich musical compositions and humorous, gripping stories have a profound impact on the imagination of rural people. Therefore, I have tried to keep the folk songs composed by Kanratji in the play intact, yes, considering the graph and tone of the play, I have used two more folk songs separately. The play is a tribute from us artistes to our inspirational and most venerable revered Late Shri B.V. Karanth ji.
Director
A graduate from Bihar University, Rajesh Singh received his initial training in theatre from Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts, New Delhi. He also worked as an artiste with the Sahitya Kala Parishad Repertory and Shri Ram Center Repertory. In 2006, he graduated from the National School of Drama with specialization in theatre Techniques and design and studied Theatre Design, Direction and Stage Management at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, United Kingdom in 2008-09.
He developed his own special style of design and direction. His acclaimed directorial works include ‘Rara’, ‘Raag Darbari’, ‘Babuji’ etc. In 2009, he was awarded the Mahindra Award for Music design of the play Laila Majnu directed by Prof. Ram Gopal Bajaj. He was awarded the Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar by the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi for Visual design, and Virendra Narayan Samman in the year 2017. He was a member of the Review Committee at the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI). He is currently the Cheif of the National School of Drama Repertory.
Adaptation
Born in Pratapgarh in 1965, Vibhanshu Vaibhav is a multi-faceted playwright, actor, director, screenplay- dialogue writer and drama trainer. After graduating from Allahabad University, he obtained a diploma in dramatics from the Bhartendu Natya Academy, Lucknow. From 1987 to 1992, he worked as an actor at Shri Ram Center, Delhi and was also the Chief of the Repertory. Vibhanshu Vaibhav has directed and written many plays, including Maharathi, Babuji, Kaho To Boloon, Thumri, Manthan, Panchali, Gunda Sol Saga, Naseebonwali, Tarsat Jiyara Hamar, Chuttan Dubey Ke Sapne, Shab-B-Khair, Na Main Dharmi Na Adharmi etc.
He has been honored with many prestigious awards of the country along with the Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for playwriting.
Group
Established in 1964 with only 4 members, the Repertory Company is the regular performing department of the school. It was established with the twin objectives of establishing professional theatre on the one hand and continuing regular experimental work on the other.
Cast and Credit
On Stage
Babuji : Rajesh Singh / Suman Kumar
Kaushalya : Shilpa Bharti / Pooja Gupta
Barkau : Mazibur Rehman / Ankur Singh
Chhotku : Satyendra Malik / Ankur Singh
Jagesar : Naveen Singh Thakur / Aalok Ranjan
Sursati : Potshangbam Rita Devi / Shivani Bhartiya
Kaka and Dhanpat : Shiv Prasad Gond
Lachhu : Vikram Lepcha / Parteek Badera
Kalidin : Anant Sharma / Rajesh Singh
Inspector : Tabish Khan / Akhil Pratap Gautam
Rambhajan Singh : Akhil Pratap Gautam / Tabish Khan
Sipahi : Hiralal Rai
Basanti : Madhurima Tarafder / Poli Phukan
Farebi : Parthik Badera / Sameer Jeevan Ramteke
Villagers : Motilal Khare, Satish Kumar, Narayan Ramesh Pawar, Sameer Jeevan Ramteke, Mukesh Jha, Raman.
Off Stage
Chief of Repertory : Rajesh Singh
Light Design : Avtar Sahni
Set & Light Assistant : Susheel Kant Mishra
Costume Design : Nalini R. Joshi
Assistants : Poonam, Shazia
Costume Incharge : Nisha, Parvati Bisht
Choreography : Nidhi Mishra
Set Exicution : Vikram Kumar, Manoj, Takmir, Rizwan
Light Exicution : Sunil, Shubham
Property Incharge : Motilal Khare
Assistant : Parteek, Sameer
Sound Technician : Swarna lata, Mukesh Kumar
Sound Arrangement : Santosh Kumar (Sandy)
Harmonium : Rajesh Pathak
Banjo : Narayan Thakur
Sarangi : Anil Mishra
Rhythm : Shilendra Chauhan
Nagada : Ateeque Khan
Assistant : Naveen Singh Thakur
Poster – Brochure Design : Ali Raza, Mazibur Rehman
Appearance : Shiv Prasad, Hiralal, Shivani
Photography : Deepak Kumar, Piyush Srivastava
Publicity : E. Gajalakshmi, Prakash Jha
Exhibition : Manoj Athwal, Pawan Kumar
Stage Manager : Abhishek Mudgal
Administration & Accounts : Rajeev Pratap, Zubair Bedi
Admin Assistant : Manoj Athwal, Pawan Kumar
Assistant Director : Shiv Prasad Gond
Story : Mithileshwar
Play Adaptation : Vibhanshu Vaibhav
Music : Lt. B.V. Karanth
Scenic, Design & Direction : Rajesh Singh
Contact
NSD, Repertory Company
Bahawalpur House, Bhagwandas Rode
New Delhi – 110001