Choklate Productions’ play ‘Ahe Nilashaila’ staged for 21st time at Rabindra Mandap

Bhubaneswar: ‘Ahe Nilashaila’, a popular historical play of Choklate Productions, was staged today at Rabindra Mandap here. It has been staged 21 times so far, including in Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru and Delhi. The play was performed from 6 pm onwards on the scheduled days.

Every time, the play has garnered wide public appreciation from all sections of society and from all age groups. A long serpentine queue was seen well ahead of the show time due to heavy public demand. Many of the audience shouted ‘Jai Jagannath’ to express their emotions while enjoying the play.

“The trend of purchasing a ticket to see a play must begin. As many people could not see the play and missed an opportunity for some or other reason, ‘Ahe Nilashaila’ will be staged once again soon,” said Sambad Group Executive Director Tanaya Patnaik.

The play, directed by eminent theatre director Lala Biren Ray, also received an overwhelming response from the audience in the past few days. It was performed for the fourth time in Bhubaneswar.

Recently, the play was showcased at the Odisha Parba event in New Delhi. It was also staged at Ravindra Kalakshetra in Bengaluru during Odisha Utsav in October, last year.

“I am elated that ‘Ahe Nilashaila’ was staged once again for five days. Love from the audience and the overwhelming demand have compelled us to come back again and again. The drama has received critical acclaim from all quarters and we are very happy that Choklate Productions is able to spread Jagannath culture through this play,” the Executive Director of Sambad Group further said.

The play depicts how the then Gajapati king Ramachandra Deb had to undergo untold miseries for protecting Lord Jagannath from the evil eyes of Naib Nazim. Its story is partially inspired by Sahitya Akademi Award-winning Odia author Surendra Mohanty’s famous novel ‘Nila Saila’.

The play features actors Lawrence Behera (Gajapati Ramachandra Deb), Sofia Alam (Maharani Lalita), Prakash Jena (Mohammed Taqi Khan), Shraddha Panigrahi (Razia), Manisha Rath (Saradei), Nishant Majithia (Bakshi), Abhishek Giri (Bhagirathi Kumar), Shambhu Hota (Laxmi Paramguru), Chinmaya (Jaguni), Hadu (Sandha Suara), Govinda Mohapatra (Bada Parichha), Umakanta (Sana Parichha), Partha Sarathi (Amin Chand), Rakesh (Duta), Raghunath Behera (Jagat Seth), KP (Murad Ali), Sunil Padhiary (Salim), Sujit Kumar (Kaalu), Bipranjaya Nayak (Bisuni), Prabhat (Rauta) and Kishore, Saumitri and Satya as Pujakas.

The script of the play has been written by eminent playwrights Shankar Prasad Tripathi and Dr Pratima Hota.