Are colours the destiny of an artiste? How does he choose his colours or do they choose him? The dichotomy of colours plague the protagonist of “Colour Vision “written and directed by Pranab Nibir. In the writer and director’s own words he claims to be inspired by Anton Chekov writings. Can a colour cause trauma and de-stabilize an artist creative vision. Red seems to haunt the painter; it is the colour that represents the negative aspects for the protagonist; ie violence, anger, trauma, destruction, identity crisis it all. He cannot complete his paintings for they demand ‘red’. His half created images mandate fulfillment through completion; but the painter is at a loss. He does not know how he should proceed towards completion. Are the half complete paintings a reflection of his own crazed, delusional and chaotic self and the red colour the key to all his angst and identity crisis.
The protagonist Abir artistic temperament demands angst, chaos, delusion and identity crisis; where his creations give voice to his own inner turmoil and cry out for release. The only ray of hope, love, and stability is his wife Nisha, a simple girl who harbours dreams of being a mother once the paintings are completed. She too demands fulfillment like the creations of Abir. And there is the red colour at the end of spectrum which creates havoc in his artistic firmament. It is as if the protagonist and the red colour are a metaphor that symbolizes the contradiction between reality and perceived reality. The dominance of red colour throughout the play with its negative definitions lends a credulity to the chaos and angst that the Abir suffers from. In the climax the protagonist has lost his grip on reality totally as he perceives one of his creations getting intimate with his wife. The result is unadulterated hatred and jealousy. And in a fit jealous rage Abir perceives his creation, as a lover of his wife and wants to end the lover’s life, but in the process his innocent wife Nisha loses her life. Abir is now left with his incomplete paintings, hallucinations and with blood on his hands, the colour red.
The play ‘Colour Vision’ is really an in-depth take on the tormented and tortured world of an artiste. Herein a painter and his hallucinations with colours. The metaphor of ‘red’ goes beyond colour to define a mental and emotional state that truly torments the vision of the artiste. The play was staged in Seagull on March 23. As a young writer and director Pranab Nibir shows true promise with his intellectual depth and width of vision. The play being one the first for both the writer and director and actors, it indeed left us with a lot to delve into. Each actor whether it was Abir or one who essayed the colour red, each actor has given life to their renditions. The use of multi languages in the play helped to weave an intricate pattern and perhaps helped in the overall impact of the play. Pranab Nibir’s vision is truly coloured leaving us wanting more colours of his visions.
