With the demise of Asim Basu, an era in theatre and art ended. His stagecraft will no longer be seen. He will not be seen taking theatre workshops and seminars.
The young theatre enthusiasts are at loss: They won’t have his visionary guidance any longer. But he will always be remembered for his mammoth contribution to the field of art and theatre of Odisha. He left his indelible mark in every sphere, be it painting, acting, directing, stage designing or be it writing columns.
If a question is ever asked why Asim Basu had lesser enemies and many more friends, the answer is his signature smile and amicable behaviour for all age groups. And this is the reason he will always remain alive in the hearts of art lovers.
Born to Motilal Basu and Bijanbala Basu in Kakhada village of Bhogarai block in Baleswar district in 1935, Basu showed a keen interest in art since his childhood days. His hunger for art finally landed him in Kolkata, against the wishes of his parents. There in Kolkata he chanced to work with noted actor Utpal Dutt. He proved his talents in the field of acting, direction and stage designing so long as he was associated with Minarva Theatre. In the year 1962/63, he came back to Odisha aiming to do something for his own State. Thus a theatre group “Rupakar” formed.
His debut play as a director was Bijay Mishra's 'Duiti Surya Dagdha Phula Ku Nei'. A few years later, Basu and some theatre enthusiasts gave birth to a separate theatre group named “Uttara Purusha”.
He directed around 200 plays and did stage designing for over 500 plays and was the art director for several Odia films. What he did as an art-director in films like Agni Sanketa (Odia) and Shodh (Hindi) are still in the memory of cine lovers. He also made his appearances in many Tele films and films like Jaga Balia and Dadagiri.
Basu, who received the state Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1998, was chosen for Dharmapada Award for the year 2010 but he seemed to be not so lucky to get this prestigious award till his death.
He desired to translate the Hindi play “Kamala” into Odia and to direct it too. But destiny was cruel. His dream remains a dream. But nevertheless, neither the art nor the artist dies.
