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For the love of the stage

In conversation with Samina Luthfa Nitra

Fahmim Ferdous
At first glance, Dr. Samina Luthfa appears like any other academic; with a PhD from the University of Oxford under her belt, the Assistant Professor of Sociology at Dhaka University goes about the same routine as any of her colleagues in the daytime. But as the sun goes down, her alter-ego emerges from the professor's shadow, and takes to the rehearsal room. Samina Luthfa, known more commonly in the theatre arena as Nitra, has been a devoted theatre activist for nearly two decades. Beginning her career in 1996 with Subachan Natya Sangsad and now one of the founding cornerstones of BotTala (since 2008), the actor-playwright has received acknowledgement in the form of the Tanushree Padak (2010) and the Md. Zakaria Padak (2013). In a conversation with The Daily Star, the thespian shed light on her journey of the stage.
From when you started in theatre to today, a lot of things have changed. What keeps you driven to theatre?
Nitra: I don't know ... (smiles) it has grown with time, with phases. It started with a desire to act, but I realised there are other
aspects to it. I started writing for my troupe, and to see my lines being uttered by actors on stage, moments being created, it's very satisfying. I think I have invested in it too much, and now I don't want to let go. But to keep some young people engaged in a creative activity, to develop that side of them, that's also a motivation. I don't think I am leaving a big impact or anything like that.
Tell us a little about the plays you've written?
Nitra: The first play I wrote was for Subachan, called "Teerthangkar". Then I cotranslated a play called "12th Night", wrote "Khona", and "Beerangona", that has been produced by the London-based Komola Collective. I've written a few more, but not all of them have been brought to stage yet.
You've portrayed wide-ranging characters from Leelaboti in "Khona" to Woman in "Dog, Woman, Man". What is it like to switch such diverse roles?
Nitra: It's actually quite difficult, to establish a character. I've donned different roles at different times. For instance "The Trial of Mallam Ilya" I portray three characters, two of which are male; all three are negative roles, but have their own nuances. To discover a character and be
that person is challenging. Every role I do feels like the most daunting, but portraying Woman (in Reetu Sattar’s "Dog, Woman, Man") is probably the longest struggle. Because, the character I did was a part of me that I had left behind long ago, so it was like opening a Pandora's Box. It was a little scary.
Your husband, Mohammad Ali Haider, is a theatre veteran and director at BotTala as well. What are the perks of that?
Nitra: It's fantastic. Say, we continuously debate about a matter of a play, and eventually one of us is able to convince the other. I wouldn't get that scope with another director. All our conflicts are theatre-related (chuckles). Haider is like my partner-in-arts. We understand each other well, so working together is very easy. Our tastes are also similar, so that works well with us too.
What's the big dream, with theatre?
Nitra: We still haven't reached theatre to a wider audience. I have a dream to take my plays to the masses. I want to stage plays for the people outside of Shilpakala; in Savar, Ashulia and other places. I want to reach a place where we can tell stories of their lives, things that they can relate to. So yes, 1 want to do that.