Link to video trailer here.
It was 10:15 pm on a Wednesday in September 2019. But the road that connects Ganeshguri to Dispur is still busy and crowded. In fact, there is a traffic jam right outside Gopal Boro Government Higher Secondary School. Most of the crowd wants to enter the school. It is because Abahan theatre – the popular mobile theatre group would soon begin its third show of the day at 10:30.
Scenes outside Ganeshguri road
What is interesting is that this is not an occasional occurrence. Every year, mobile theatre troops create a frenzy amongst its audience once they start performing September onwards. As the name suggests, mobile theatre (known as bhyrmoman natak in Assamese) groups travel from one part of the state to another performing three plays at each stop. Each theatre party consists of 100-150 members, led by the producer of the group. Mobile theatre is an integral part of the Assamese public sphere and culture. It is also one of the most popular forms of media, communication and entertainment, cutting across class, gender and region (Patgiri 2019).[i]
When we talk of the media, images of various forms of print, electronic and social media conjure up in our minds. Theatre rarely finds a place in this gallery of our minds. But this is not the case for Assamese mobile theatre. Despite an increasing number of television channels and the growth of internet services, the charm and attraction of mobile theatre remain intact. In fact, the media has played a significant role in helping mobile theatre retain and increase its popularity. It is this role of the media that I intend to explore in this particular piece.
While the form of mobile theatre itself makes it accessible and visible, it is also the support from mainstream media comprising of print and electronic formats and social media that help in increasing it. I call it ‘mediatised visuality’ – by which I mean the process through which other forms of media help mobile theatre in becoming visible in Assam (Patgiri 2020).[ii] The mainstream forms of media like the print and the electronic media, complemented by social media, provide mobile theatre with a platform to increase its impact and reach.
Print media
The role of print media has been very interesting in mobile theatre’s history. The term bhyrmoman natak was, in fact, first used by Radha Govinda Baruah, a renowned Assamese journalist in his newspapers Dainik Assam and The Assam Tribune. But it is also true that at the time when mobile theatre had just started, it did not get much attention from the local print media (Patgiri 2019: 44). However, today newspapers dedicate widespread coverage to mobile theatre. Most Assamese language newspapers have individual sections in which they publish news about the actors, plays, and singers of mobile theatre. They also print advertisements from mobile theatre groups about upcoming shows. For the media houses, advertisements are a way of revenue generation, whereas, for the theatre parties, it is a means to gain publicity.
This is an advertisement by the Abahan theatre group about its show in Guwahati that was published in Axomiya Pratidin on 10th August 2018.
Electronic media
The electronic media, that is, the television and the radio, play an equally important role in providing mobile theatre visibility and popularity. Most of the Assamese news and entertainment channels have segments dedicated to providing information and gossip about mobile theatre to viewers. Both TV and radio channels also air interviews with famous actors, singers, and directors of mobile theatre. Many Assamese entertainment channels also telecast full plays of previous seasons on special occasions and holidays so that people can enjoy them at home.
A photograph that shows the telecast of the play Morom Diya Muk (Give Me Love) of Abahan theatre group from the 2016-2017 season.
Social media
Almost all the mobile theatre groups have social media handles, especially Facebook pages. They use forms of social media like Facebook and Instagram to communicate with the audience. Information such as when and where the theatre group would be travelling to and performing, about the actors who have been hired for the season, the plays that will be performed during the year, the major attractions, etc. are shared on Facebook by the theatre parties. Instagram, on the other hand, is used to share photographs of rehearsals, stills from the plays, costumes, posters, etc. by the troops.
YouTube is another form of social media that mobile theatre parties have effectively used to popularise their plays. The form and content of mobile theatre have undergone significant changes in recent years, and many plays contain song and dance sequences like films. Many parties ‘release’ videos of these songs on YouTube before the theatre season begins. This is similar to what movie production houses do with their music before the films are released. It is a tactic that mobile theatre parties use to create a buzz and sensation amongst the audience about their plays before the season starts officially. Many songs become extremely popular on YouTube, collecting millions of views. For example, the song kot mur maa (where is my mother) of the play Mur maar suwali (I am my mother’s daughter) of Abahan theatre group is one of the most popular songs of the 2017-2018 theatre season, and it has managed to gather millions of views.[iii]
Apart from their music, mobile theatre parties also use YouTube to release short promotional videos of their plays before the season begins officially. For instance, Bordoisila theatre group had released the trailers of its three plays – Deuta (Father), Grihalakshmi (Perfect housewife) and Putola (Doll) – that were performed during 2018-2019.[iv]
What these examples highlight is that the media in Assam – instead of being a threat to mobile theatre, actually aids theatre parties in both popularity and visibility. Thus, the increasing processes of both mediatisation and digitisation have meant that mobile theatre parties have adapted new ways to stay relevant and cater to their audiences. Intelligent use of other media forms has meant that mobile theatre still has widespread reach amongst the public.
[i] Patgiri, Rituparna. 2019. Mobile Theatre of Assam: A Socio-Historical Perspective. Journal of North East India Studies. 9(1): 29-51. Association for North East India Studies. http://www.jneis.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/9.1.2.pdf
[ii] Patgiri, Rituparna. 2021. Bhyrmoman Natak in Assam: A Study of Publics. Unpublished PhD thesis. Submitted to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.
[iii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFEHjjx6Jxw, accessed on 30th November 2020.
[iv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxGLjnQNmVY, accessed on 30th November 2020.