Koodiyattam exponent Kapila Venu breaks the glass ceiling but once more within the new play Mricchakatikam
Koodiyattam, India’s solely surviving Sanskrit theatre type, nonetheless has an untapped goldmine of historic texts to dip into. The most recent Koodiyattam play is Mricchakatikam (The Little Clay Cart), written by King Sudraka within the fifth Century, and has been directed by celebrated guru G Venu of Natanakairali, Irinjalakuda
Mricchakatikam differs from the same old Koodiyattam repertoire as its story doesn’t revolve round kings, gods or characters from the epics, however round commoners, love, friendship and a political coup. Maybe, a significant motive why Mricchakatikam, with a thief and a courtesan as its core plot, was by no means thought-about apt for Koodiyattam.
Even Kalidasa’s Sakunthalam, a famed Sanskrit play was not featured in Koodiyattam until Venu tailored it to the stage in 2001. He’s identified to mix theatre with themes and socio-political consciousness. “After I took to Koodiyattam in 1976, girls weren’t given a lot significance although they carried out feminine roles. It has been my dream to current performs with sturdy feminine leads.” Put up the success of Sakunthalam, he directed Vikramorvasiyam and Urubhangam — with Urvashi and Gandhari, respectively — as central characters. In all these performs, Venu’s daughter Kapila Venu, has performed the lead.
In Mricchakatikam, which has over 30 characters,Kapila portrays Vasantasena, whereas Sooraj Nambiar performs Charudatta. Nepathya Sreehari Chakyar performs Sarvilaka the thief, whereas Pothiyil Ranjith Chakyar dons the position of Karnapooraka, the mahout. Margi Sajeev Narayana Chakyar, Sankar Venkateswaran, Kalamandalam Jishnu Pratap, Sarita Krishnakumar and Margi Anjana Chakyar are the opposite actors who painting pivotal characters within the play.
Although a sophisticated storyline, Mricchakatikam, on the floor degree, is a romantic story, between a poor service provider and a rich courtesan. However, its underlying theme is about class, wealth, political corruption and redemption. And like many classical artforms, the main target is just not on the plot however its presentation.
Kapila Venu as Vasanthasena and Sooraj Nambiar as Charudatta in Mrcchakatikam.
| Photograph Credit score:
THULASI KAKKAT
“Vasantasena is in contrast to any character I’ve performed earlier than. She is clever, beneficiant, cultured, educated and rich . It’s lovely that she sees these very qualities in Charudatta and is drawn to him. In my portrayal of her, I emphasise her independence and energy,” says Kapila.
The grasp comes up with a brand new work.
| Photograph Credit score:
THULASI KAKKAT
In keeping with Venu, “Koodiyattam has the theatrical components to make the viewers imagine there’s an elephant on stage.” He additionally makes a daring assertion within the climax of the play, by having Vasantasena carry out the ritualistic mudiyakkitha, historically carried out by the male lead. He explains: “Vasantasena is not any peculiar heroine. She is impartial, virtuous and philanthropic. Therefore, I made a decision to have her carry out the mudiyakkitha. We have to take such daring selections to acknowledge that at the moment extra girls are taking over this artwork type in comparison with males.”
Kapila too believes that the climax shall be a second of historic significance. “Bharathavakyam, the ultimate benediction of the play and the mudiyakkitha ritual marks the end result of a Koodiyattam play and carry deep non secular and theatrical meanings. The suitable to carry out this ritual was restricted to the male actor.”
The largest problem for Venu was “to condense the 10-act play to a two-and-a-half-hour one. It needed to be accomplished if Koodiyattam needed to keep related and adapt to the calls for of the trendy viewers. My first model of Sakunthalam bumped into 13-and-a-half hours and was staged over 4 days. Although it was appreciated, we couldn’t stage many reveals. Then we got here up with a shorter model, which was successful and is being carried out even at the moment.”
The concept to stage Mricchakatikam was inspired by the late theatre director Habib Tanvir, who had tailored it to the stage first utilizing people varieties. “He watched our performs and advised we do Mricchakatikam and was satisfied that Koodiyattam might obtain what his people model couldn’t,” shares Venu.
“Initially, we weren’t certain if this was adaptable to Koodiyattam. After a number of readings for a month, I wrote the play to incorporate all of the layers of its aesthetic potential. However, that bumped into five-and-a-half-hours. After one other 4 months of rehearsals, it was reduce right down to a length of two-and-a-half hours,” states Venu.
Percussion for Mricchakatikam is by Kalamandalam Rajiv, Hariharan and Vineesh on the mizhavu, with Kalanilayam Unnikrishnan on the Idakka and Gurukulam Athulya on talam. There may be additionally the addition of kurumkuzhal, a wind instrument, not often utilized in Koodiyattam.
Mricchakatikam, produced by Natanakairali and supported by the Bhoomija Belief, Bengaluru, will premiere at Ranga Shankara in Bengaluru, on July 1 and a couple of.
Printed – June 25, 2025 12:35 pm IST
