The stage is set in early 20th century in a cinema hall in Kozhikode. A drama troupe from Tamil Nadu is staging Nalla Thangaal , a period drama. An actor dressed up as a woman stands near a makeshift well on the stage, ready to jump in with her kids. And finally, as she jumped in with her kids, the spectators shed tears. So moved were they that they wanted the scene to be enacted again. The organisers agreed and the actress who played the character came out of the well and gave an encore of the last scene.
Unsatisfied, the crowd again shouted, “Once More.” The play became such a hit that before each of its staging, the organisers kept a board, “Once more kelkakoodaathu .’ (Don’t ask for ‘Once More’ or replay of scenes.)
Such Tamil plays were a success in Kerala, which already had a rich theatre history in the form of its many art forms such as Kathakali and Chakiarkoothu. But modern theatre,the history of which could be traced back to the theatre of the Victorian era, was ushered into Kerala by the Tamil drama troupes.
The trend in Tamil theatre itself was influenced by the success of similar plays elsewhere in India, ushered by the Parsees, who had found in them a great business opportunity, taking a cue from the success of such plays in Europe. Adutha Bell traces this story on the lines of a play. What could have been a dry academic work becomes lucid and gripping on account of the book’s narrative.
The stage is set
The extent of research that has gone into the work is evident from the references given, the detailing of scenes, the talks the author has had with stalwarts such as Thikkodian, the chronicling of the various phases of Malayalam theatre including the details of the plays staged, the ‘companies’ that produced them, the brains and actors behind them. It was the same group who later went on to make a mark in the theatre and cinema landscape of the State, and influenced the culture and politics of the region.
Leading ladies
Sreekumar gives great importance to the names that shaped the art, with specific detailing given on how they managed to do it. But what stands out in the narrative are several references to women who played important roles, right from S.D. Subbulakshmi, a pioneer of Tamil theatre, to Thankam Vasudevan Nair, who ruled the stage with her portrayal of ‘Yachaki’ in the 1930s, and to the women who joined the Kerala People’s Arts Club and became a part of a movement that later went on to influence the politics of the land. The writer’s list of the art clubs and ‘kendras’ that gave Malayalam theatre some of its landmark plays is meticulous and exhaustive. The story behind how the halls and stages transformed themselves to be historic theatre galleries is interwoven in the narrative. Priceless is the collection of age-old posters of the plays that find a reproduction in the book.
The crossover of some of theatre’s illustrious stars (as well as plays) into cinema is analysed with matter-of-fact precision, sans much value judgement.
Summing up the lucid retelling of the story of theatre in Kerala, the writer gives an account of the present state of the performing art here and the prospects it has for a value-based resurgence that keeps pace with changing times.
Adutha bell
Dr K. Sreekumar
DC Books
Rs. 320
