An interview with a globetrotting musician, prior to his trip to Delhi to receive the coveted Padma award from the President, is the milieu of Soorya Krishnamoorthy’s new play ‘Deergha Chathuram’. The 90-minute play in real time, with its share of drama and melodrama, unfolds during the interview conducted by a popular television hostess.
With visual clippings, signature music and ‘bytes’ from the past and the present, the format captures flawlessly the sound and sights of contemporary interviews on television. The question and answer session peels away, layer by layer, the veneer of poise and detachment of the world-weary, pretentious musician and reveals his insecurities and his not-so-rosy past.
Devan Nellimoodu’s Hindustani musician keep viewers guessing as to who he is trying to lampoon on stage. His costume and hair style are misleading but a few questions later, it becomes clear that Soorya Krishnamoorthy, the playwright and director, is not targeting a person or an individual musician as such but a category of leading musicians who enjoy the perks of being an Indian legend but stays outside the country. Any viewer who has his/her finger on the pulse of the Indian music scene should be able to tune in to catch the undertones in the play and the broad hints that are dropped loudly to indicate who are the musicians on the hot seat. Equally loud are the plaudits showered on K.J. Yesudas to emphasise his altruistic nature and quest for perfection.
During the course of the ‘interview’, the musician’s unsavoury past and his misdeeds come back to haunt him as the hostess takes him back to his youth and early days as a struggling musician. Krishnamoorthy says the intent of the play is to highlight how many prestigious awards and honours are given to people who are media savvy and adept social climbers. In the process, the losers are the really deserving artistes who work away from the limelight. “It is also true that many of our legends were not all that righteous or gracious in their youth. It is important not to forget your roots or the way you came up,” says Krishnamoorthy.
Although Thushara Nambiar’s clunky diction, especially when she says dialogues in English, grates on the ears, she did a fairly good job as the hostess with an axe to grind. The melodrama could have been pared down and viewers could have been saved from the teary scenes. Understatement goes for a toss towards the end of the play.
‘Deergha Chathuram’ has its moments, especially in the first half when our musician is all bluster and gung ho about his music and his life. With a little fine tuning, this play could be a gem in Krishnamoorthy’s collection of plays.
