The duo has come together under the banner of Ratnadeep Opera, which will be producing the show, for the third consecutive time.

“Two days after the election results, we approached them. Initially, they were hesitant, saying they would not be able to find time for rehearsals. But we convinced them saying more than 50 families were depended on this business,” said Haradhan Ray, manager of Ratnadeep Opera. For the past two years, the duo has been signing contracts for 100 days but due to their prior commitments in Delhi this year, they have signed a contract for 50 days only.

But the organisers of the jatra are not complaining at all. “We are hoping all our shows will be mega hits. Already, we are getting calls for bookings. The rates per show have gone up from Rs 1.25 lakh last year to Rs 1.60 lakh this year,” says Ray.

The duo first came together under the banner of Ratnadeep Opera in 2006 for ‘Rajar Ghore Rajlakshmi’ (Rajlakshmi in the King’s Home), a love story where Roy, a girl coming from a rich family, falls in love with a youth from an impoverished background, played by Pal.

In 2007, the duo delivered the super-hit folk theatre ‘Bhalobhasa ki Aage Bujhini’ where Pal played the role of a CBI officer from Delhi who lands up in a small village in West Bengal to solve a murder case. In the same village, Roy is a pick-pocket who steals to run an orphanage.

“Even as an MLA, I have done jatras and films. So I can manage my schedule,” Pal said. But Roy was cautious. “Now that I’m an MP, I have to be a bit choosy about roles,” she said.

“This time around, the two actors are working on a nominal remuneration. Just to keep the art of folk theatre alive,” says producer Kamala Bhattacharya.