Theatre is more than a passion for Amal Rajdev. This veteran of the stage has been on a mission to take theatre to the masses. The winner of last year’s Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi award for the best actor (amateur drama), Amal is staging Ragini , a solo drama, scripted and directed by K.R. Ramesh, today.
Amal, 42, a native of Muvattupuzha, took to theatre at a young age. An alumnus of the School of Drama, he worked with theatre groups such as Abhinaya and Natakayogam in the city before turning to amateur theatre. Serials and films came his way, but the arclights did not hold his attention. “I believe that acting in front of the camera is fairly easy compared to doing it live on stage. Working in theatre calls for talent, passion, hard work and dedication,” says Amal.
Critical of the “step-motherly treatment” meted out to theatre artistes in Kerala, Amal says, “When you go abroad, you should see the kind of recognition they get from society. But here theatre actors are plagued with insecurities. That is why many artistes prefer to go after the name, fame and money you get from other media. However, I have chosen to veer off that trend and, instead, take theatre to the younger generation,” says Amal. He has been running a children’s theatre group, Thaliru, in Muvattupuzha for three years now. Thaliru has children belonging to economically backward families, he adds.
Amal has also been holding theatre workshops and personality development sessions involving theatre in various institutions. In addition, he has been staging the play Premalekhanam based on Vaikom Muhammed Basheer’s book of the same name with his wife, Lakshmi Amal. It has completed nearly 1,000 stages. He is planning to start a children’s theatre group in the city as well.
Meanwhile, he is all excited about D Company, his theatre group, which is getting officially launched with the staging of Ragini . Swaralaya Samskarika Samithi, Kollam, is associating with the event.
Ragini is a tale of unconditional love. Nainappan, a dairy farmer, dotes on his cow, Ragini. “The cow, though barren, gives milk. Nainappan believes that it is because of his love for her. When the word gets around, Nainappan and the cow become big news. He gives away the milk for free, but people force him to take money, thus inviting the wrath of other dairy farmers. He is dragged to court by animal welfare activists; political parties and the church approach him with tempting offers and he is pressurised from all sides to part with the cow. What happens to Nainappan and Ragini is what the play is about,” says Amal.
Music plays an important element in the play, as the story moves forward through the conversation between Nainappan and the cow. M.K. Madhusoodanan has scored the music.
Ragini will be staged at Vyloppilly Samskriti Bhavan on June 11 at 6.30 p.m.
