Once an actor always an actor!

VIJAY DEO JHA

RANCHI

Going by their histrionics and full-throated baritones ringing out within and outside the state Assembly it seems that the long-buried actors within Samresh Singh and Satyanand Jha ‘Batul’ often dominate their political persona.

Picture this: During the ongoing monsoon session this JVM legislator tore his kurta apart, rushed to the well and was about to unfold his dhoti when House requested him not to blush female legislators. “Jatra party. Eh acting karta hai, (Jatra party. Doing acting),” no plaudits heaped upon Singh’s theatrics.

At the age of 71, when many of his party leaders expect an statesmanlike bahaviour from him, he would chide in a manner, “shut-up you fools just listen and watch me.”

Singh won’t mind jumping on reporter’s table during debate if he has some points to say. Table turns into a stage of his solo theatrical performance where he delivers passionate and angry dialogues, unintentionally mimicking great Bengali film actor Uttam Kumar and Hindi film legendry Prtiviraj Kapoor. Last year he had offered this show. This political heavyweight (86kg) does not stay on table for longer time: either table can’t sustain the weight of his rampage or he can’t sustain his own weight.

“He was part of Bengal’s famous jatra party (a theatrical troupe) during 60s. He often tore cloths to impress his heroine and audiences on the stage,” one of his close aides said. Sudhamoi Chatterjee, a male actor who played the role of his heroine in most of his plays, is not alive to narrate those Kurta tearing moments.

Political Singh continued it even gaining notoriety for pulling others’ Dhoti too.  It is tough to suggest how many Kurta he has sacrificed for public cause, so far.

He resorted to Kurta tearing act in 1975. The then station in-charge of Chas police station, Tarkeswarnath Tiwari, had put him in police lock up during an agitation along with Badal Majumdar and Pawan Agrawal. In lock-up he tore his Kurta and dashed his head against wall. That year, he had performed it in full public glare in Jamshedpur to support the cause of 86 unauthorized bustees. In 1980 he did it to protest against the then Bokaro ASP Manjari Jaruhar (known as Hunter Wali) as she thrashed his political workers Akhilesh Mahto.

“I tear Kurta when I am angry. But actors are those who pretend to serve public,” Singh takes a jibe on his opposition.  He doesn’t reply as to why he did a near cheerharan of the then Union Steel Minister, Biju Patnayak in 1986, by pulling Patnayak’s dhoti during a public function. “Politics me yah sab chalta hai. Wo bhi ek jamana thaa,” Singh said.

That was a time when he was considered an actor at par with famous Jatra actors like Swapan Kumar, Ajitesh Bandophadyya and Rakhal Singh. A great fan of Uttam Kumar he moved to Bombay and even had screening test with Nirupa Roy. The great dream dashed. He turned into politics but passion continued.

Batul must be a keen watcher to Singh’s theatrics. He happened to be Jatra actor playing role of Lord Ram and a lead actor of Vishwamitra-Menaka act. This modern day Vishwamitra finds tough to deny he having any relation with Soni Devi who claims to be his wife and father of her son. Even House awaits Batul for some comic as well as dramatic moments with his unique dialogue delivery having mannerism and pitch of Jatra while rebutting Opposition’s charges.

It happened rarely happened when Batul would have subdued in silence as on Wednesday when Congress’ Sarfaraz Ahmed read out an Urdu couplet for him: “Jindgi me kuch aisa Karen kadardan, ke jis gali se guzre bacche kahne abba jaan.  Singh rips his Kurta which Batul doesn’t, is the only difference.