New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar taking time off to step under the arc lights on stage has generated interest because while politicians are known to have dabbled in acting in West Bengal – a state recognised for cultural activities – there have not been many who could follow their hearts while being in a similar position that demands absolute involvement. Yet, for Bengal, the achievement is not without precedent.
More than two decades ago, another Bengali minister at the Centre, Ajit Panja (1936-2008), became famous for the portrayal of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa in productions of ‘Nati Binodini’.
Majumdar took to the stage on Sunday, donning the role of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a theatrical production, ‘Keshari Hatya’, depicting the life and death of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS). He also appeared in the same play as the narrator.
The Minister told the media that he was offered the role, and as “every Bengali has a latent desire to act”, he accepted it.
“Though I can’t recollect any other Union Minister from West Bengal having acted in a play apart from Ajitda and Sukantababu, I do remember Subrata Mukherjee and lately, Bratya Basu, having enacted roles on stage as well as in cinema,” said Saumya Bandopadhya, a senior journalist who has covered the state for almost a half-century.
Subrata Mukherjee (1946-2021) was a veteran West Bengal politician who was a senior leader of the Congress party and later, the Trinamool. He served as a cabinet minister in the West Bengal government and was widely regarded as an influential organiser and administrator, with a political career spanning more than five decades.
He also served as the Mayor of Kolkata and played an important role in Bengal politics for many years.
The 57-year-old Bratya Basu has served as a Minister in the Mamata Banerjee-led cabinet in West Bengal. However, neither Mukherjee nor Basu were Union Ministers, and their acting skills were well known earlier.
Echoing Bandopadhya, another senior journalist from West Bengal, Gautam Hor, added that it is the passion for the stage that draws people from other professions onto amateur acting.
“Anybody who loves theatre can participate on stage, but it is the time constraint for someone who holds a minister’s job that makes such an attempt stand out. Such a foray requires time, especially for rehearsals,” he said.
According to Majumdar, rehearsals were conducted even as he attended to his official engagements, participating whenever he could afford the time.
That, indeed, is a tough task. It is perhaps “Bengali has a latent desire to act” that the Minister stated that made the task possible for him.
Panja, a senior Congress leader who later joined the Trinamool Congress and served in several Union ministries, was also a passionate theatre actor.
He earned widespread recognition with his enactment of Sri Ramakrishna, and has even held a show at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Contemporary accounts describe how then-Prime Minister Vajpayee was among those who watched the production during one of its stagings, and former Chief Minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu, had attended a performance and praised Panja’s acting.
The tradition resurfaced with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sukanta Majumdar performing at Kolkata’s Rabindra Sadan. Hopefully, the curtain will never fall as Bengal continues to follow the passion.
–IANS
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