Bhanu (an adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya) follows the visit of an aging professor, Niladri, and his glamorous, much younger second wife, Ela, to the rural estate that once belonged to the professor’s late first wife. This estate now sustains their comfortable urban lifestyle. Two close friends – Bhanu, the brother of Niladri’s first wife and long-time caretaker of the estate, and Atanu, the local doctor – both become captivated by Ela, even as they lament the monotony of their provincial lives. Sukanya, Niladri’s daughter from his first marriage, who has worked alongside Bhanu to keep the estate running, quietly suffers from her unreciprocated love for Atanu. Tensions come to a head when Niladri announces his plan to sell the estate – Bhanu and Sukanya’s – home to reinvest the money for a higher income for himself and Ela. The announcement triggers a breaking point for Bhanu.
Writer
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is considered one of the greatest Russian playwrights of all time whose plays paved way for Modernism in Theatre. His path breaking plays Ivanov, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard, amongst other writings, have been adapted, produced, and staged worldwide.
Director
Suman Mukhopadhyay’s repertoire spans European classics, modern Indian drama, and adaptations of Bengali literary masterpieces. His productions have been featured at leading national theatre festivals and have travelled across the world, with notable international showings at Columbia University in New York and the Barbican Theatre in London. Among his most acclaimed works are Uncle Vanya, Tiner Tolowar, Teesta Paarer Brittanto, Mephisto, Bisarjan, and King Lear. He has directed many feature films amongst which Herbert (2005) won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. His work has been showcased at major international festivals such as Busan, Montreal, Dubai, Munich, San Francisco, Seattle, and Kerala, and he has received the Motion Picture Association–Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) accolade in 2017. Alongside his feature work, Suman has created numerous documentaries, cine-plays, short films, and television projects.
Director’s Note
When Ujjwal Chattopadhyay and I set out to create a new Bengali translation of Uncle Vanya, our hope was to remain deeply faithful to Chekhov’s original while shaping a language rooted in Bengali sensibility. I envisioned a contemporary staging that would not loudly announce its modernity, but would instead let the story feel quietly and organically grounded in the “here and now” – a world marked by economic uncertainty, climate anxiety, and our ongoing search for purpose, love, and the meaning of labour. What happens when a Russian masterpiece about disillusionment and yearning is filtered through the crises of our own time? What does it mean to hear these characters speak in a voice that feels familiar? To watch them confront not the twilight of czarist Russia, but the harsh glare of India’s growing capitalism and deepening inequality – where despair and spiritual fatigue have become part of our daily fabric? My aim was to dissolve the distance between then and now, between Chekhov’s world and our own. I remain profoundly grateful to Anton Chekhov – who understood, perhaps better than anyone, that the longing to be useful, to be loved, to wrest meaning from the brief span of our lives, is universal.
Group
Since its inception in 1996, Shyambazar Mukhomukhi group has worked with eminent Directors like Soumitra Chatterjee, Biplab Banerjee, Subrata Dey, Debesh Chatterjee, Abanti Chakraborty, Kaushik Sen, Poulami Bose, and Suman Mukhopadhyay. Its major productions are Prantapasya, Arohan, Qurbani, Atmakatha, Sabjanta Pratidino Tobo Gatha, Boshtomi, Neel Mati Laal Kankar, Noshto Ashim, Lambakarna Pala, Chena Dukho-Chena Sukh, Teen Kanya, Ichcher Oli Goli, Bidehi, Janmantar, Mephisto, Ajker Shahjahan, Tiner Talwar, and many other plays. For the last 20 years the group has been organizing drama festivals which includes Exhibitions, Seminars, Street Dramas etc. and felicitate renowned actors, designers, music directors, & Critics.