Best of Malayalam theatre to be staged in city for a cause

While Kalaanilayam, one of the largest drama troupes in Kerala, will stage a popular play titled Hidimbi on Friday (today), Kerala People’s Arts Club (KPAC), another renowned theatre, will perform a path-breaking play Ntuppapakkoranendarnnu on March 26 (Sunday). 

“Hidimbi will recreate the powerful character from Mahabharatha and Ntuppapakkoranendarnnu, an adaptation of the popular novel of the same title by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, is a satire on the socio-political situation of our times. Ntuppapakkoranendarnnu is a colloquial term popular in northern Kerala, which literally translates to ‘My grandfather had an elephant’,” says Rajani Rajnarayanan, one of the key members of Dakshinaa, which organises the event. 

Popular poet and lyricist Mankombu Gopalakrishnan will be felicitated at the festival on Sunday for his contribution to Malayalam theatre. Chanakyasabatham, to be staged on March 25 is an in-house production and members of Dakshinaa will enact the play, which will be directed by popular director Ali Akbar. 

Dakshinaa, a city-based socio-cultural organisation, has been conducting similar events every year for charity, says Rajani. “Last year, we had an interesting light and sound show, which highlighted the uniqueness of all 13 districts of Kerala. A whopping 350 artistes were part of the event. We still get multiple requests to stage the show in other parts of the country and abroad, we are planning to do it in future. Kerala government too partly funded the show,” says Rajani. The proceeds from Nataka Vismayam will be used to fund the education of girl students from economically weaker sections, according to her. 

Interestingly, Dakshinaa is not a Malayalee association, though it happens to have almost all members with a Kerala connection. “That’s why the reach of our programmes is wide. We expect at least a 1,000 footfalls for Nataka Vismayam. The events of Dakshinaa are not restricted to Malayalees and we have always had the patronage and support of Tamil audience as well. And we try to pay back to them in whatever way possible, because for every Malayalee, if Kerala is the biological mother, Tamil Nadu is their foster parent,” concludes Rajani.