Bengal theater group Bahurupee critiques society through Nero

By Arnab Mitra

Experimental Bengali theater group, Bahurupee recently performed 'Nero' at the Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata. The play tells the story of power and the struggles associated with it in our society every day.

Nero was an infamous Roman emperor who is remembered in the pages of history for his cruelty. The play portrays the present condition of the society, where from Iraq to India, every single minute innocent lives are lost due to gruesome power struggles.

NewsGram had an interaction with the director of the play, Tulika Das. Here is an excerpt:

Arnab Mitra: Does 'Nero' have any relevance in the modern society?

Tulika Das: Every day in the name of terror, innocent lives are lost all around the world. The only reason behind this is man's lust and greed. Neros never die, they are there in every phase of our life.

AM: Do you think democracy is a re-defined version of Autocracy?

TD: After 65 years of democracy, Indians are still oppressed. Thousands of farmers are dying every year. The blessing of democracy only reached a certain section of the bourgeois but not to the masses.

AM: Any message you want to give through this play?

TD: At the end of the play, supreme Nero also feared for his life, and the civil war in Nero's era brought Rome to a phase of destruction. My simple message through this play is to maintain peace and try to construct the world, rather than destroying it.