Mumbai the financial capital was shaken when it witnessed a series of terrorist attacks in 2008. The city known for its charm could possibly never get over the shock which killed dozens in the city of dream. While Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamic militant organization was to be blamed for the disruption, Kolkata’s most respected theatrician gives us an out of the box perspective of the incident with their upcoming play which is ready to perform in New Delhi.
Mumbai Zoo, a one of kind solo act directed and enacted Tathagata Chowdhury decodes the mind of the terrorist who was associated with the Mumbai terror attack.
It not only defragments the psychology of a terrorist but also break down the thoughts of a human being who has been wronged in his life. ‘It’s more of exploring two minds here. The act of terror committed and the act of terror on whom it is committed’ says Tathagata Chowdhury who will be performing the play in the National Capital on 8th and 9th of April.
“The Mumbai Zoo is an attempt to examine how the society itself plays the role of Dr. Frankenstein, and the terrorist is a mere demon, a monster, that we create. The two minds being explored are that of the monster, we call terrorist, and that of the society, which is, we the people,” he added
During an interview with Newsd, speaking about what drives him personally to take up this critical analysis and turning into a solo act he says, “I used to travel alone in the trains and would wonder why one would want to create terror in a land of opportunities and charm. And then I tried to reason from the perspective of the person wronged. The educated unemployed, the ‘commoner’, the passerby who stares at the food and people inside Cafe Mondica and wonders when he will get a chance to step in. I had more questions than answers. Writing the play, I started getting the answers to my own questions. Since I ask, and I answer, therefore it’s a dialogue between I and me. So, a solo”
The act revolves around the two characters, Dhruv, a rebel and Raquib who is quietly reading in a park, both played by Chowdhury himself. “Since both Dhruv and Raquib are the basically two voices but one mouth, it demands a solo act.” He said.
The relevance of the theme of the play still remains on a strong base as the process of society making monsters have not stopped even after a decade of the deadly attacks says, Chowdhury.
“The incidents are dated, but the feelings, emotions, have no expiry date.” he added.
You can view the trailer below:
