‘Kalathingal Thodikayil Kalvilakku,' a play based on the eventful life and career of K.T. Muhammed, the late doyen of theatre in Kerala, was premiered before a jam-packed audience at Town Hall in Kozhikode.
The play, written and directed by veteran playwright Ibrahim Vengara, K.T's own disciple, deserved to be highlighted in the history of Kerala's theatre.
The historic Town Hall, which has witnessed the staging of almost all plays written by KT, once again was the venue for a play that celebrated values of human dignity cutting across barriers of religion or community – some of the most recognisable trademarks of K.T's plays.
Rajesh Azheekod played K.T. The play begins with a forlorn and tired K.T. who is being hounded by his landlord to vacate the rented house he is staying in. With no place to go and no one to turn to, he cuts a sorry figure with only a few medals and plaques to keep him company.
Evolution of the artiste
The play takes the viewers through important incidents and moments in the personal and creative life of the playwright. It includes his early life as a postal employee, a short story writer and an intense lover before evolving into a serious dramatist.
Rajesh did a brilliant job portraying the young, middle-aged and elderly persona of the playwright.
K.T.s' parents and family friends also come on stage as characters on different occasions, unfolding the role and influence of his family and friends in his creative and personal life.
Award-winning actor Savithri Sreedharan did well as K.T's mother; her impressive lucidity in the Malabar Muslim dialect was a high point.
Characters and contexts from some his most famous plays such as ‘Samanwayam,' ‘Ithu Bhumiyanu' and ‘Manushyan Karagruhathil' also get a place on stage as the play develops.
Two of the famous songs from the play ‘Ithu Bhumiyanu,' including ‘Mudi narezhay cheentheettu…,' was reintroduced with a fresh tune and tempo. It was rendered by composer Sivadas Warrier.
