A love affair with drama

Namaskara Visitors! This blog will contain my thoughts and opinions on acting, theatre, television, film; almost anything which makes normal life dramatic. Basically, I will tell you all the secrets of my love affair! If you love drama, like me, then come and tell me all about your love affair. Keep it Dramatic!!

Monday, November 29, 2010

A Dramatic Revolution - Indian Style!



Namaskara!
A revolution of theatrical proportions. If there ever was a time when the entire India was one, you all have to agree, it was at the time of the long and arduous struggle for our freedom. Everyone participated. From the child who would accompany the pickets and the rallies shouting slogans in his high pitched voice, to the senescent elders who sat at home next to their faithful radios anxiously wondering when Gandhi would break his fast. But, "what so dramatic about that?" you may ask, "Thats there in every revolution and in any country's freedom struggle." To which I reply, "We are Indians. Nothing we do can ever be ordinary. It's always Dramatic!"

Song is for the musician, dance is for the dancer and art is for the painter. But theatre, is for everyone. Theatre has always been regarded as an elevated form of entertainment which could draw the attention of the masses and the elites. In the early 1900s, before the advent of the idiot box and its elder brother film, people used to watch a lot of plays. Plays used to go on for 8-10 hrs into the night. Wandering minstrels and histrions used to travel from one eager village to another with their plays which used to provide happiness and relief to the tired and oppressed masses of India. As the years passed and the freedom struggle to overthrow the audacious colonialists reached a fever pitch, the suppression of nonconformist views was constantly quelled by the British. The people of India found ways and means of uniting inspite of all the subjugation.

One of the ways our people devised to rally their countrymen against the British was theatre. These uneducated minstrels would wander, spreading the message of revolution and lighting a inextinguishable flame through laughs and tears."Between 1860 and 1880, the political theatre scene was extremely strong in the rest of the country. Neeldarpan', a Bengali play, in 1860, sparked off this phase. Theatre mobilised thousands to join the freedom struggle. But we can't be too sure of what did happen as there is very little documentation," says theatre critic Sadanand Menon.

These plays and dramas performed mostly in front of rural audiences were mostly performed by theatre companies who dedicated their entire lives to their art. These companies consisted almost entirely of uneducated but highly learned individuals who were not satisfied just with roars of applause from the audience. They wanted to send them home with a message. They wanted to tell them that their country needs them. But this message freely expressed without the authorities promptly suppressing any sort of negative propaganda against the British Raj.

If one examines the songs and characters of a 'company naataka', there is a very subtle but undeniable undercurrent of contempt for the British. While heroes sing their songs to the tunes of mellifluous raagas of Indian classical music, while the villains used to sing their songs to the tunes of English ballads and adagios. While the hero was draped in the most exquisite Indian attire, the villain had on the most ridiculous looking western clothes. For example, I was a part of a very old company naataka caled 'Sadarame'. In this play, I played the hero, a prince. You can see me in the photo below dressed in elegant Indian panche and other accoutrement and the picture below that you can see the villain looking absolutely ludicrous in his ill fitting western clothes. When I asked the director why this was so, she replied, "We used to love laughing at the British, but it was all the more exciting because they didn't get the joke."



Now wouldn't you agree that this was indeed a revolution of theatrical proportion? I would like to end with a message to all of you. Films, serials, plays, etc are not just about entertainment. It can change the way we think and the way we act. Theatre and cinema have the power to topple governments. It all depends on what we choose to watch. Don't choose to only watch the movie with the most number of kisses or the movie with most number of topless scenes. Be responsible! Be different!
KEEP IT DRAMATIC!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

The Perfect Man

Namaskara!
I had set up this blog very long back but had not added anything to it since a very long time. I was recently going through my facebook page and I realised that, 'Hey! I have a blog with a cool title. So might as well share my thoughts with you good folk.'

How does one play the role of a God? This question has been bugging me for the past 6 months. I mean, how do you do it? What is the characterisation like? I refuse to fall prey to the tried and tested formulae which have now become slightly jaded stereotypes in my opinion. Advice! I get a lot of it. Some of it very helpful, some of it, just plain ignorant. But I welcome advice. So tell me, if you were given the opportunity to play the role of a human being who is perfect in every single way, is considered a God and is worshipped by billions of people, how would you go about building the character?

Ok, let me make this easier for you. I have the honour and privilege of playing the role of Lord Rama, a mythological character in India who is worshipped as a God even to this day. Let me give you a character sketch. He is someone who always does the right thing, says the right words, reacts the right way. All in all, HE IS ALWAYS RIGHT. Can you imagine this? I am sure none of us, mortal human beings, can know what is the right thing to do in every situation. One very common piece of advice which I usually get is that Rama is God, he knows everything and ergo, nothing that happens around him affects him in the least. So he should always be smiling like nothing ever happened. I have seen other actors' portrayal of this divine character and they almost seem indifferent and obtuse to whatever is happening around them in an attempt to depict omniscience. So, whenever I see Rama on screen, I always feel he is someone who just does what he is supposed to do instead of believing strongly in every single action of his. Like a very efficient machine.

In these few months of me playing the character, I have built this character which, in my opinion, holds the most water regarding the character sketch of Lord Rama. He is someone who feels all the emotions a normal human being feels but only when it is absolutely appropriate. Walking on the path of righteousness is so important to him, that he is willing to do anything, including exiling his pregnant wife to the forest in order to uphold righteousness. He feels happy, sad and angry only when it is the right thing to do. Not someone who knows everything, thereby not letting anything affect him. The difference is where he does not allow anybody or anything to affect him adversely. He has utter faith in his actions and can justify every action with the compelling argument of Dharma. An obedient son to his parents, a humble servant to his elders, a just ruler of his people, a caring and adoring husband to his wife, a role model to his brothers and peers, all in all, what everyone in this world can only hope to be.

This is character I have to play. I believe in destiny and fate and I think it cannot just be attributed to luck that I have been given the divine opportunity to play this role. But, this great opportunity comes with a herculean task of living upto the image of the perfect human being. And that's tough. So I want you guys to give me your opinions as to how to go about 'Building a Character' in the words of a visionary, Constantin Stanislavski. Please leave comments or contact me via email.
Until next time, KEEP IT DRAMATIC!!