The reviving act

Scenes from Neelkanthi

Few know that poet Dushyant Kumar, one of India's leading litterateurs of the 20th century, was a master of prose too. Of the three dramas he penned, each had a distinct style, and his only poetic drama, ek Kanth Vishpayee, is now being staged in an unconventional way. Perhaps, just the way he would have liked it.

Sandeep Kulkarni

Theatre director Kulvinder Bakshish took to the script the first time he read it. "We renamed the play to Neelkanthi. No director has presented this play before. While I wanted to make the narrative relevant to the present day, I also wanted to use dying art forms to weave the story. We fused various art forms such as Thang-Ta, Chahu, Keibul Lamjao, Mayurbhanj, Chhau and Kalaripayattu," says Bakshish. "We have not tweaked the language too much as language is hardly a barrier these days. Human emotions are the same all over the world. I also chose to train the actors I usually work with in the art forms that we are using, instead of working with dancers who know the form.
Initially, I was to play the lead character. Sandeep ji (Kulkarni) saw the play and loved the presentation, that's how I got him to play the lead," he adds.

Kulkarni had been looking for an interesting opportunity, and with Neelkanthi, he will be returning to the stage after an eight-year gap. "I was most intrigued by the various Folk dance-martial art forms used in the play. There are hardly any practitioners of the art in Mumbai. Kulvinder had learnt these forms at different points of time and spent time teaching us. He wanted to show the current generation that these forms, too, can be used to tell a story. I worked hard to learn the forms. They are very good for the mind and body," shares Kulkarni. "The lyrical form of the play reminded me of Andha Yug, a play I had done with Satyadev Dubey. It was a muti-starrer in those days and was in the form of poetry too. The dialogues in Neelkanthi have a certain rhythm that compliments the storyline. Particularly at a time when Hindi as a language is used in a form that is a diluted version of the original, we have tried to revisit literature. The play might serve as a reference point for the usage of chaste language in the future," he adds.

This work of literature connects the existence of God and humans. "It is known that Lord Shiva is feared for his anger and that his anger can destroy every existence. Religious texts say that god exists in even the tiniest, which means Lord Shiva too exists in all human beings, making them capable of disturbing the balance of nature. Yet, in spite of political ambitions shadowing humanity, people remain silent to make sure that the world moves on. The play exhibits this dilemma of nature," shares Bakshi. "The story looks at the life of a common man today, who works as a servant in a palace and is suppressed and finds no way to express himself. This is juxtaposed with the life of Lord Shiva who is also meditative and docile till he is taken advantage of. There are various layers to the play," says Kulkarni.

With eight main characters and a 25-member strong cast, the play has been in the making for about a year. "It's not an out-and-out entertainer and hence, will take time to grow on people. But we received a good response at the opening show, last week" concludes Kulkarni.

On: October 22, 7.30 pm
At: Rangsharda Natyamandir, near Lilavati Hospital, KC Marg, Bandra Reclamation Bandra (W)
Call: 26401919