Dilip Guha, New Delhi : The renowned Kanupriya Theatre Company of Delhi NCR recently staged the play Anuradha, based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s acclaimed work, at the LTG Auditorium, Mandi House, Delhi. The play was adapted and directed by Aakshay Yaduvanshi.
Anuradha tells the story of an unmarried woman from a wealthy family who faces countless challenges yet remains strong-willed. Rather than succumbing to her circumstances, she confronts them head-on. When her family’s estate is transferred to a new landlord, Vijay, his son plans to evict Anuradha. However, Anuradha’s affection for his only son, Kumar, gradually leads Vijay to fall in love with her, despite his initial intention to marry Anita, an educated woman from the city. The story explores the complexities of love, loyalty, and family ties.
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s stories quietly yet powerfully illuminate the essence of womanhood — portraying women as autonomous beings, free to make choices that are right, wrong, or simply their own. His narratives embody feminist thought without fanfare, offering a deeply empathetic lens into the lives of women as they navigate societal expectations.
This spirit finds a stirring new voice in the play Anuradha, the grandest self-produced classical play by the Kanupriya Theatre Company. The production transports audiences to early 20th-century Bengal — a world shaped by tradition, longing, and quiet rebellion.
Anuradha retells a 20th-century Bengali story with immersive detail and cultural authenticity. The production features a grand Zamindar haveli set that blends historical opulence with theatrical elegance. The cast, dressed in traditional Bengali attire like sarees and stolas ( in the Indian context, “uttariya” or “shawl” ), vividly evokes the era’s aristocrats and townsfolk, enhancing the play’s visual richness and emotional depth.
With soulful music, graceful dances, and dialogues that echo with emotional depth, Anuradha brings to life the poignant tale of a woman caught between duty and desire…
Reflection of play captures the soul of the performance — that delicate interplay of restraint and longing that Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay so masterfully evokes in his writing.
The play featured non-Bengali actors in the roles, yet they delivered with remarkable sensitivity and cultural depth. Rashmi Singh, in particular, brought Anuradha to life with a quiet dignity that transcended linguistic boundaries and embodied the titular role with quiet strength and vulnerability. At the same time, Abhishek Jadli portrays Vijay, the young Zamindar’s son, whose presence awakens a love too fragile for the world outside, which was layered with emotional nuance — a man torn between duty and desire, tradition and tenderness.
Their chemistry didn’t rely on overt dramatics but on the subtle choreography of emotion: a glance held too long, a silence that spoke volumes, and the unspoken ache of love that could never fully bloom. It’s a testament to the universality of Sarat Chandra’s themes — love, sacrifice, societal constraint — that actors outside the Bengali milieu could inhabit these roles so authentically.
Together, they weave a story not of grand declarations, but of glances, silences, and the ache of what might have been — a love incomplete, yet unforgettable.
Abhishek Jadli, a theatre professional with over three years of experience, played Vijay, the male protagonist, who has performed in several plays in the Delhi-NCR region, having been the lead actor for many of them.
In an email interview with this reporter, he expresses deep gratitude for being cast in the role of Vijay, a character he had long aspired to play. He acknowledges that Vijay possesses attributes and dimensions distinct from his personality, making the role both challenging and rewarding. To prepare, he has studied and focused meticulously on refining his body language, facial expressions, and dialogue delivery to ensure a profound connection with the audience.
Excerpts:
How did you prepare for the role of lead actor ‘Vijay’ in Anuradha? How do you think your character contributes to the overall narrative, and what challenges did you face in portraying the character’s complexities?
Abhishek: I prepared for Vijay by studying the social background of Bengal in Sarat Chandra’s time and understanding his motivations as a privileged man navigating moral dilemmas. Read the script repeatedly, made character assumptions, tried to understand the good/bad qualities of Vijay, worked on characterisation—how he thinks about everything, physical traits, emotional traits, etc. Vijay contributes to the narrative as the bridge between wealth, power, and the struggles of common people — his actions drive the tension in the story.
The main challenge was balancing his authority with his inner conflict and portraying his emotional layers without making him one-dimensional.
How do you think your own life experiences or personality traits have helped you connect with the character?
Abhishek: Coming from a structured professional background, I relate to Vijay’s sense of responsibility and pressure from family expectations. At the same time, my reserved nature helped me bring out his restraint and conflict, while my passion for acting allowed me to explore the vulnerability beneath his exterior.
What do you think is the significance of Sarat Chandra’s work in Bengali literature, and how does Anuradha fit into that context?
Abhishek: Sarat Chandra is celebrated for his ability to capture the emotional and social realities of ordinary people with simplicity and depth. His works often highlight human emotions against rigid social structures and offer a compassionate depiction of women’s struggles within a patriarchal society. Anuradha fits into this tradition by weaving love, duty, and societal pressures into a narrative that feels deeply relatable even today.
How do you think the novel’s themes and characters have been adapted or reinterpreted for the stage?
Abhishek: Sarat Chandra’s works naturally lend themselves to theatre because of their strong emotional core and sharp social commentary. In Anuradha, the stage adaptation emphasises the tension between personal desires and societal obligations through dialogue-heavy scenes and dramatic silences. The characters are reinterpreted with more immediacy, allowing the audience to experience their struggles and choices in real time. Additionally, scenes such as Anita and Vijay’s dance sequence, the Dhunuchi dance, among others, added more magic on stage and are not part of the original writing.
How do you think the themes of the play — such as love, sacrifice, or social commentary — resonate with contemporary audiences?
Abhishek: Even today, audiences relate to the clash between personal happiness and social expectations. Love and sacrifice remain timeless, while the social commentary on class, gender roles, and moral choices feels surprisingly current. The play resonates because people still face dilemmas where they must choose between duty, ambition, and emotional fulfilment.
Anuradha delves into timeless themes of duty, sacrifice, and the quiet weight of societal expectations, echoing the emotional terrain familiar to admirers of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s work. The play continues to resonate with audiences who cherish its layered character portrayals and profound emotional depth, leaving behind a legacy of quiet reflection and enduring impact.
