Anuswar stages Arthur Miller classic ‘Mulyo Amulyo’ today

Popular theatre troupe Anuswar will stage its acclaimed production “Mulyo Amulyo” (The Price and the Priceless) at the Experimental Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy this evening.  

Based on Arthur Miller’s “The Price”, the play has been adapted into Bangla by Asit Mukhopadhyay, with transformation and direction by Mohammad Bari.  The play “Mulyo Amulyo” explores the steep emotional cost of eroding family bonds in the face of a profit-driven state, a fragmented society, and the relentless march of market capitalism.

The story of the play is about the heavy price paid for the erosion of the joint family ethos—a collapse driven by the onslaught of profit-centric state structures, societal shifts, and market economics. The scene is set as two sons, Ranju and Manju, auction off their father’s old furniture, with the cunning auctioneer Khodabox presiding over the proceedings. Yet, transcending the immediate task at hand, a conflict unfolds between the two brothers—whose personalities are starkly different—revealing their ambivalence about the past, despair regarding the present, and the tug-of-war over their future.

Amidst their clashing personalities and arguments, a web of ideological dilemmas emerges, bringing to the fore themes of greed, deceit, uncertainty, and conspiracy, all set against a backdrop of despondency. Guilt eventually compels us all to stand before the mirror of time. Does the question of winning and losing ultimately intrude even upon our relationships, thus, the story of the play continues. 

The probable cast of the play includes Mohammad Bari, Prashanta Haldar, Saif Suman, Farida Lima, and Yajnasini Mou, among others.