The “6th Mumbai Theatre Festival” organized by Natsamrat at the Creative Adda Auditorium in Versova, Mumbai staged many wonderful plays on 3rd, 11th & 12th January. These plays not only entertained the audience but also presented deep social and emotional issues effectively.

3rd January: ‘Nithalla’ and ‘Napunsak’ staged

On the first day of the festival, the play ‘Nithalla’ based on the story of Harishankar Parsai was staged. It was adapted by Kuldeep Kunal and directed and solo acted by Nagendra Kumar Sharma. This play was the story of an ideal ‘Nithalla’ who selflessly devotes his life for the betterment of the society. The play deeply impressed the audience by highlighting the conflict between selfishness and selflessness.

Nipunsak was then staged, written and directed by Manjul Bhardwaj. This play presents the life struggle and agony of eunuchs. The director brought this complex subject to life with his acting and sensitive presentation. Shivani’s music made the presentation more effective.

January 11: Presentation of ‘Darogaji Chori Ho Gayi’

On January 11, the play ‘Darogaji Chori Ho Gayi’ written by Jaivardhan and directed by Chandra Shekhar Sharma was staged. Presented by Mask Players Art Group, this play exposed the corruption prevailing in the government system and the deviant tendencies of the youth through humor and satire.

In this play, Nikhil Jha (Daroga and Detective), Ashish Sharma (Babu), Shipra Jain (Deepak), and Eva Dandona (Pooja) made the audience laugh with their impressive acting. The play tried to show how the youth running after a glamorous life take the path of crime. This presentation gave a social message along with humor.

12 January: ‘The Proposal’ and ‘Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahen’ staged

On the last day of the festival, Anton Chekhov’s famous play ‘The Proposal’ was staged. This comedy-satire play was based on family relations and property disputes. Vishwajeet, Munmun, Aman Kumar, and Raman Kumar made the audience laugh a lot with their excellent acting. The story showed funny arguments during a marriage proposal by a young man, which the audience applauded.

The second play ‘Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahen’ presented an emotional story. Vishwajeet and Munmun played the roles of Dr. Anand and Mansi in this play directed by Shyam Kumar. The play beautifully presented the themes of life’s struggle, human emotions and inspiration. The chemistry of both the actors moved the audience.

The contribution of the technical team in all the plays was commendable. Stage manager Sunil Rathore, music coordinator Aman, makeup experts Payal and Chhobi Saha, and Shyam Kumar in lighting design played an important role in bringing the plays closer to reality.

The audience appreciated all the plays. Nithalla and Napunsak touched upon sensitive issues deeply, while Darogaji Chori Ho Gayi gave a social message with humour. The Proposal and Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahen presented complex topics of life in a light-hearted manner.

The festival proved that theatre is not only a medium of entertainment, but it is also an effective medium to show the mirror to the society and inspire it to think deeply.

Playwright: G. Krishanan

Director: D. Elumalai

Group: Sri Thanthoni Amman Therukkuthu Nadaga Sabha, Thiruvannamalai

Language: Tamil

Duration: 1 hr 30 mins

The Play

Duryodhana’s son, Lakshmana Kumaran, is eligible to marriage and Sakuni suggests he may be married to the daughter of Dhurgapuri’s Lord  Krishna. Duryodhana agrees and goes to Dhurgapuri Darbar. Entering, Duryodhana asks Lord Krishna to marry his daughter to his son. But Krishna decided to first speak with his wife. Duryodhana agrees. Mangalakshmi, wife of Lord Krishna, listenes to Krishna, but reminds him that he has promised his daughter’s marriage to Arjun’s son. Lord Krishna says that as Arjun has lost almost all his land, we must reconsider the match. They finally decide to marry their daughter to Duryodhan’s son and announcement of the same intent is made. When their daughter, Sundari, hears this, she gets upset, and sends a message to Abhimanyu through Vayu Bhagvan that he should come immediately and marry her. Abhimanyu gets the message and straightaway sets out to stop the wedding.

Director’s Note

This play is dramatized from Mahabharata’s story of Abhimanya Sundari Thirukalyanam. It was performed in our rural villages. The audience would eagerly wait for Sundari’s entry. Whenever we performed this play, the Kattiya Karan (Narrator), makes jokes and adds humour to the whole play.

The Director

At the age of sixteen, after finishing his school, D. Elumalai underwent training with two Koothu teachers, Kishtappa Meshtri and Srinivasa Meshtri. He learnt Adavu and songs from them. Later he joined Purisai Kalaimamani Subramaniya Thambirar Therukoothu group as an actor. There he learnt Adavu from Kannappa Thambiran and Sambanthan in 1987-88. He founded the Sri Thanthoniamman Therukoothu Nadaga Sabha in the year 1997. He gave training to Thalai -K-kol, a modern theatre group in Pondichery and organised the performance of Nadu Koothan there. In 2006-2008, he got trained in Therukoothu at Pondichery University. He also conducted a 10 days’ workshop at National School of Drama’s Bangalore Centre. He is the chief trainer for Therukoothu. He got Kalai Nan Mani award from the Government of Tamil Nadu.

The Playwright

G. Krishnan has been writing for the last 30 years. His plays have been translated in German and French. He teaches Thabasu and Krishnan Doodhu to the village youths. Thakkayagam, Arjunan Thabasu, Lavakusha, Baratham, Sundari thirukalyam are some of his famous plays.

The Group

Sri Thanthoniamman Therukoothu Nadaga Sabha is the leading Tamil folk Theatre group that promotes the traditional folk art form of Therukoothu. It was established in 1985 by a Group of folk theatre enthusiasts who were involved in promoting Therukoothu in the districts of Thiruvannamalai, Kanchipuram, Chennai, Vellore, Dharumapuri, Pondicherry. They have performed in the National Theatre festival (19th BRM at New Delhi) and have also conducted a number of workshops with college students, foreign research scholars and school children.

Cast & Credits

On Stage: Ravichandran, Madhavan, Vijay, A. Ramakrishnan, M. Haridass, Ethiraj, E. Manikandan, Subramanian, Mukundan, Elavarasu, S. Rajesh, Venkatesan,

Harmonium: Seetharaman

Mirudangam: Krishnamoorthy

Mughaveenai: S. Chandiran

Lighting: E. Sukumar

Design & Props: E. Suresh

Translator & Coordinator: M. Manivanna