A windbag, who also brags, doesn’t just bore others. He is so full of himself, that he doesn’t even realise that people are having fun at his expense. Nor is he able to do a self-analysis, and so he doesn’t know what his kinks are.
Raghupathy (Sridhar) is one such brag. Family and friends can do nothing about his verbosity. Raghu’s monologues have to be switched off, if he is to introspect and become a less abrasive person. Sound (oli) has to be toned down, if the light (oLi) of awareness is to be switched on.
Dummies’ latest play, ‘Oliyum OLiyum,’ written and directed by Sreevathson, inaugurated for Kartik Fine Arts, shows how a ‘guru’ brings about this transformation in Raghu.
But was it necessary to give so many examples of Raghu’s garrulousness? With Raghu launching into dreadfully long speeches, not just his wife, but the viewer too began to pray for an auditory failure. The longwinded speeches slowed down the tempo of the play. The overarching theme was about the power of silence, but the play also talked about spiritual gurus. But was Ramakrishna Sastri (Giridharan) a spiritual guru? The character of the guru was not properly defined. His role seemed to be more in the nature of a counsellor, who pointed out Raghu’s flaws and facilitated a process of self-correction. Sastri wore a panchakaccham (not in the best of styles, to say the least)and talked of going for ‘biksha,’ but this isn’t what determines a spiritual guru.
On the whole, ‘Oliyum OLiyum’ was a good show, with a novel theme handled breezily, well written lines and refined acting.
