87-year-old thespian beats paralysis, back on stage to enthral audience
Times of India | 2 March 2024
Kolkata: The Academy of Fine Arts stage was witness to history on Thursday when 87-year-old thespian Arun Mukherjee beat the risk of paralysis that had suddenly left him immobile. Two months ago, he underwent a high-risk spine surgery that had complications. Thanks to his willpower, he recovered and returned on stage after a gap of one and a half years. His 10-minute appearance as a speech impaired barber who even breaks into a song left the audience inspired for life.
The ‘Jagannath’ actor performed in Sujan Mukhopadhyay’s ‘Don Taake Bhalo Laage’ — a play that is part of the week-long festival titled ‘Mancha Chitrer Suman’. “Given my health, I was initially doubtful. But my son, Sujan, convinced me otherwise,” he said.
Till Thursday afternoon, it wasn’t clear if the octogenarian would be able to make it. “Once during the pujas, he felt pain. Then his legs went numb. When he was getting paralytic, we consulted the doctor and decided to go for this procedure. We didn’t even know if he would ever be able to walk. And then to see him perform on stage was really special,” said actor-director Suman Mukhopadhyay, for whom this week-long festival has been curated by Bilu Dutta and Mukhomukhi.
Being on stage can be therapeutic for any performing artist. “Everything changed once I was there. My initial apprehensions went away when I thought that I have many decades of experience to pull it off,” Mukherjee said. He didn’t mind that there was someone who had to hold him from behind. “I told him to hold my waist. I would manage the rest since I had my hands free. I am still not very comfortable walking. But nothing beats the excitement of performing live,” Mukherjee added. Sujan added that it was “magical” to see his father hit the stage after being bed-ridden for a month in January. “His acting prowess has always been superlative. I had kept someone as a helper and had assured Baba that I will manage in case something happens. What he did on stage has now become a myth. His doctors too were sent clips of his performance,” Sujan said.
Music director Prabuddha Banerjee was moved to see how a person can be “so talented and dedicated” that even in a small role with barely any dialogues he can leave the audience enthralled. Banerjee scored the music for “Don Taake Bhalo Laage” and performed live on stage on Thursday. “Arun Mukherjee is theatre. I have watched his ‘Jagannath’ five times. His vision, sense of humour and musical capabilities – everything left me floored. At the age of 87, he sang ‘amar sadh na mitilo’ on stage. It was pitch-perfect. People were rolling with laughter. Watching him was a rewarding moment for me.”
Mukherjee, who has a National Film Award for acting for “Parashuramer Kuthar”, is happy with the response. “It’s a mystery why good acting offers in cinema never came my way after I won the award. I would go if they did. I have always been more interested in theatre. There too, I have been a selective actor. There have been many occasions when I didn’t act even in Chetana productions that I helmed,” he said.
Recently, he directed an adaptation of Manik Bandyopadhyay’s ‘Haraner Nat Jamai’ for the Ramyani theatre group. “Before taking ill, I was translating Bernard Shaw’s ‘Pygmalion’. Once I am fitter, I want to resume writing,” he signed off.