A scene from Dingulo Kemon Chhilo, staged on Tuesday on Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy premises. — Snigdha Zaman

The torture and anguish of the masses, in a remote village, during the war of independence have been presented through an experimental open-air production titled, ‘Dingulo Kemon Chhilo’, staged on Tuesday on the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy premises.
Following the concept of ‘Environmental Theatre’, the production was able to successfully create the feeling of war and stories of massacres through the open-air performance, in which playwright-director Ashish Khondokar has optimally ulitised the natural elements of the ambiance. 
To create an even more realistic ambience, required to portray the massacres done by the Pakistani Army and its local collaborators in a village located at the Indian border, realistic props, weapons, jeeps and scattered junk of vehicles have been used on the bushy ground.      
The performance of the actors of Paribesh Theatre, on the huge performing space with realistic sound effects of thunderous fighter planes and bullets, gave a complete picture of the war, in the two and half hour production. Use of small explosives, resembling gunshots, also made the killing scenes chilling to the audience.
‘Dingulo Kemon Chhilo’ ends with the triumph of victory of the masses at the end of the war.
The experimental production, however, is not without flaws. The theatre, sometimes, appeared repetitive and monotonous as well.  The audience missed a good portion of the dialogues as the artiste’s voice sometimes was overshadowed by the sound of aircrafts and engines of the jeeps.
Moreover, artistes of the troupe, except for Shamim in the role of razakar, need to improve their acting quality.
About the play, Asish Khandakar, told New Age, ‘I wrote the story after much study of the war of independence. And my intention was to depict the sufferings of the masses during the war.’
Soheluzzaman, an audience member, said, ‘The performance was enjoyable but I couldn’t hear most of the dialogues.’ Afsar Amhed, a service holder, said that it was a pleasant experience for him to watch such a lively performance.
Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy organised the staging of Paribesh Theatre’s production ‘Dingulo Kemon Chhilo’ to celebrate 41 years of  independence.
State-minister of the ministry of cultural affairs, Pramod Mankin, was present at the programme as chief guest. Internationally acclaimed artist Shahabuddin, director general of Shilpakala Academy Liaquat Ali Lucky, among others, were also present at the show.