One could say the regional Tamil theatre scene in Chennai is gathering political momentum — especially with resistance movements brewing around our factories, industries and highway projects. National School of Drama (NSD) graduate Regin Rose’s Mother of 1084 is one such. Based on Bengali writer Mahasweta Devi’s novel, the Tamil play is presented by Medai The Group Theatre, this weekend.
Rose’s connection to the script goes way back, he says, explaining, “The play, written in the late 60s, documents the left extremist movement in West Bengal during that time. I saw a scene being staged at NSD during my student days, which depicted a torture scene in prison. It affected me inexplicably, and I knew then that I wanted to direct this play one day.”
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A mother’s quest to learn about her son forms the crux of the narrative. Sujatha, who belongs to the upper echelons of Bengali society, struggles to come to terms with her son’s political leanings. Then, he merges into the left extremist movement that takes the state’s youth by storm, “he is killed by a mob instigated by the Government. From here on, the play is about Sujatha’s rediscovery of her son,” Rose says.
The narrative finds its resonances in Russian writer Maxim Gorky’s novel, The Mother, and the Malayalam avant garde filmmaker, John Abraham’s Amma Ariyan . “The former is also about a mother who tries to understand her son working for the Bolshevik party and the latter traces the journey of a dead Naxalite’s friends to inform his mother about her son’s death,” expands the director.
The soundtrack comprises of recorded and live music, featuring Bangla lullabies, dhol beats and protest songs. The physical idiom is strongly flavoured by chauu dance motifs, especially reaching an emotional crescendo through the East Indian rhythms that juxtapose the students’ movement with a glitzy party at Sujatha’s home — it is replete with class-caste dynamics.
The prison grills too are a constant metaphor in Rose’s semi-realistic play. He tries to create an illusion where the audience feels that they are imprisoned too. “The idea is to make them question who is really behind bars,” he says.
However, the play is not propagandist. “Even if you are not clued into politics, you will be able to relate to the human drama.”
Mother of 1084 will be staged at Koothu-P-Pattarai today and tomorrow at 5 pm and 7 pm. Free entry. 9442422646