KANNUR: Solo artist Radhakrishnan got an unexpected real-life lesson in stray dog attacks while performing his street play, 'Pekkaalam' (Time of the Bite).

The solo play, performed on Sunday evening in Mayyil village in north Kerala, includes a scene in which a child is “attacked” by a dog, with barking sounds and the child's screams in the background to make it feel realistic.

However, a real dog jumped onto the stage and bit him on the back of the leg.

"The dog came from outside and sank its teeth into me," Radhakrishnan told the media on Monday.

"I shooed it away with my stick and carried on. The interesting part of the drama was that the audience thought the dog's appearance on stage was part of the act," he said.

Radhakrishnan, in his 50s, completed the remaining 15 minutes of the play before informing the organisers and later going to Pariyaram Government Medical College Hospital for treatment.

"Ironic, isn't it?" he said, after the video of the incident went viral on social media.

It was his fifth solo performance on the stray dog menace.

"A solo play about stray dog attacks ended up giving me a real bite of reality. Definitely an experience I won't forget!" Radhakrishnan said.

Kerala has been facing a stray dog menace for some time, and people have raised the alarm over the increasing number of rabies cases in the state.