‘Pagla Ghoda’ Stirs Patna Stage with Raw Tale of Love, Guilt and Patriarchy
Patna, : The city’s theatre lovers were transported into a world of haunting memories and unspoken guilt on Monday evening, as Ras-Rang, Patna staged Badal Sircar’s iconic play Pagla Ghoda at Premchand Rangshala, Rajendra Nagar. Directed by Raj Kapoor, the production peeled open the hypocrisy, fear, and brutality embedded in patriarchal relationships through an unforgettable performance.
The evening began with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp by eminent guests including senior theatre artist Suresh Kumar Hajju, Bihar Education Board Deputy Secretary Arun Kumar, BJP Cultural Cell President Varun Kumar Singh, ward councillor and former standing committee member Indradeep Chandra Vanshi, and former deputy chairman of Naubatpur Nagar Panchayat Pyarelal. Ras-Rang President Shiv Prasad Gupta and Secretary-Director Raj Kapoor also graced the stage, while Ladli Rai anchored the proceedings.
The play unfolded in the chilling setting of a cremation ground, where four men, drinking by the pyre of an unknown young woman, confront their own past loves and betrayals. Each man recalls how pride, cowardice, or social norms forced him to abandon the woman he once loved—women who, one by one, chose death over rejection. The burning corpse before them belongs to yet another such victim. As the flames rise, guilt and suppressed truths consume the men, until the dead woman’s spirit confronts them with the weight of their actions.
Through piercing dialogue and surreal imagery, the play exposed the systemic oppression that drives women into despair, recasting suicides not as failures in love but as invisible murders committed by patriarchy’s weapons—humiliation, abandonment, and denial. Sircar’s metaphor of the “mad horse” (Pagla Ghoda) became the emblem of unrestrained passion, torment, and the tragic cost of repression.
The performances drew strong applause, with Pragyati Sharma delivering a riveting portrayal of the central female figure alongside Brijesh Sharma, Zafar Alam, Kunal Kumar, Shashi Ranjan, and Sushil Dev. The production’s technical finesse came alive through Ajit Kumar’s sound design, costuming by Pragyati and Ankita Sharma, and an evocative set designed by Premchand Mahato.
Adding to the evening, Ras-Rang’s troupe also staged a sharp street play, Securities Guard Ki Bahali, performed by Kumar Uday Singh and Pappu Thakur, before the main show.
At the close, the entire cast and crew were felicitated with shawls, mementos, and certificates by the dignitaries. The event marked yet another milestone for Ras-Rang, Patna, in keeping alive the city’s vibrant tradition of socially conscious theatre.
By – Nihal kumar Dutta