পরাধীনতার শৃঙ্খল ভাঙার এক কালজয়ী নাট্য-দলিল উৎপল দত্তের ‘টিনের তলোয়ার’/ An immortal dramatic document of breaking the shackles of subjugation Utpal Dutt's ‘Tiner Tolowar’

Abstract

The play ‘Tiner Talwar’, written and produced by the eminent playwriter Utpal Dutt in 1971, serves as a unique artistic commemoration of the centenary of the establishment of the Bengali public theatre (1872). However, it is not merely a nostalgic trip to the past; rather, it is a humble homage to the predecessors who laid the foundation of Bengali theatre while defying extreme social humiliation and state oppression. Despite the contemporary orthodox high society and conservative characters like Bachaspati branding the theatre as a 'den of sin' and socially ostracizing the actors and actresses, the playwright demonstrates that it was these marginalized individuals who transformed the theatre into a sacred temple of art.

           The backdrop of the play’s creation was deeply influenced by the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, the Naxalbari movement in West Bengal, and Utpal Dutt's personal political crisis and burden of debt. Breaking away from the limitations of urban drawing-room theatre, he adopted the high melodrama and acting style of rural ‘Jatra’ (folk theatre) as the core artistic framework of this play. Structurally, it is a 'meta-theatre' or a play within a play, organized into seven chapters. It depicts the life struggles of characters like 'Shankari Devi'—who rises from being a vegetable seller named Moyna to becoming the lead actress—the lifeblood of the theatre Beni madhab, and the progressive playwright Priyanath.

           The ultimate political significance of the play is unveiled through the inclusion of the infamous Dramatic Performances Control Act of 1876. Defying the capitalist arrogance of the lustful businessman Birkrishna Da and the state terror unleashed by the British police officer Lambert, an unprecedented transformation occurs on stage in the final scene. The farce of ‘Sadhabar Ekadashi’ abruptly turns into the anti-British play ‘Titumir’. The artificial 'tin sword' of acting, which was once dismissed by Mathur the sweeper as a mere toy or 'childish plaything' of the wealthy Babus, ultimately transforms into a sharp steel weapon for proving the self-determination of an exploited and subjugated nation. In conclusion, the play becomes an eternal and timeless manifesto of free artistic expression against fascism.