When someone is denigrated on account of his humble origins, it cannot be dismissed merely as social violence. It constitutes a crime against humanity and society at large.
By a cruel twist of fate, the murderer goes scot-free while the victim gets a raw deal. Though the ‘culprit’ may be at the receiving end of the legal system, it is the society that comes out in poor light.
Court Martial, written by Swadesh Deepak, which was recently staged in the capital, by Arvind Gaur’s Asmita Theatre group, is a story of a recruit, Ram Chander portrayed by Amit Rawal, who is tried for murdering one of his officers and injuring another.
The Court Martial is presided over by a war veteran, Col. Suraj Singh played by <g data-gr-id="64">Ishwak</g> Singh, who has witnessed many ‘life –and –death’ situations.
But this trial puts him in a piquant predicament and during the course of interrogation he realises that there are much larger issues at stake. Indicating that the Indian Army is the only government agency in which reservation on caste basis is not permissible, Court Martial is a combination of legal and poetic justice.
Asmita stands committed to aesthetically innovative and socially relevant theatre. Bajrangbali Singh is the stand-out performer. His brilliant portrayal of Defence Lawyer, Bikash Roy is the highlight of the play.
The other actors, Gaurav Mishra, Rahul Khanna, Shilpi Marwaha and Shiv Kanungo also do justice to their characters. The gripping play took up the contemporary issues to underline the contours of our time. The story Court Martial by Swadesh Deepak, questions the moral dilemma of decision making. It also questions the carelessness adopted in every department of the army and the reaction of the high-rank officers towards any minor cases.
Court Martial deals with the story of recruit Ram Chander who is tried for murdering one of his seniors, Major BD Kapoor, finely portrayed by Gaurav Mishra, whom the audience just loved to hate, and injuring another namely Major Verma. Court Martial paints the real picture of caste-based feudalism.
The play highlights the fact that in the Indian society, merit takes a <g data-gr-id="63">backseat</g> and caste <g data-gr-id="71">is</g> the predominant factor.