Following the remarkable success of their last dance-drama “Bhanushingher Padabali”, Bhabna, one of the leading dance companies of Bangladesh, is set to premiere their upcoming production “Shakuntala” next Friday, September 23 at the National Auditorium of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. The dance-drama is based on a famous play penned by poet Kalidas titled “Abhigyan Shakuntalam” and has been directed by renowned Manipuri dancer, Samina Husain Prema.

During a conversation with The Daily Star, Prema revealed that the entire story is being depicted through a number of Kazi Nazrul Islam's songs, which have been meticulously picked to portray the narrative accurately. The play's choreography is primarily influenced by Manipuri, although it incorporates other Indian classical as well as folk dance forms. Compositions of the Manipuri segments were overseen by Smt. Kalavati Devi, a living legend of Manipuri dance.

Asked about the challenges faced during the preparation of “Shakuntala”, Prema said, “The complete process has been quite hectic for us, but the biggest challenge was acquiring funds for the production. This added a considerable amount of pressure to the existing, substantially challenging task of adapting, composing and coordinating Shakuntala.”

The script has been crafted by Alomoy Biswas, and brought to life by Jayanto Chattopadhyay, who is the key narrator for the dance-drama. The music is directed and composed by Sumon Sarkar from Kolkata. Celebrated artistes Khairul Anam Shakil and Priyanka Gope sang for the lead roles, while a group of young and talented singers from Bangladesh voiced the chorus segments under the lead duos' guidance. The classical portions were sung by two Indian singers, Sumon Sarkar and Sirsho Roy. Notable artistes Dalia Ahmed, Shimul Mustapha, Tamanna Tithi, Debashish Chakrabortty and Jayonta Das have narrated the dialogues for the play. The set and props were designed by Hadi Mirza. Light design was prepared by Reaz Mahmud.

Tickets are available for the show at ticketchai.com at prices ranging from Taka 200-2000.