When performance spaces closed during the lockdown, digital mediums became the stage for several artistes across the globe. Theatre also went online, with productions being streamed live or uploaded after recording. Kalanilayam, a theatre group that made a mark with its lavish and mass productions, too has gone for a change of scene.
On Saturday (August 1), it presents a live streaming of its production, Hidimbi , on the Facebook page of the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (SVCC), High Commission of India, Colombo.
“Titled Hidimbi - An Arrow From The Past , this is an English version of the original work in Malayalam. The two-hour production has been trimmed to 45 minutes,” says Anandapadmanabhan, son of Krishnan Nair, founder of Kalanilayam.
Gayathri Govind
Gayathri Govind, daughter of Anandapadmanabhan, essays Hidimbi, which she did in the original as well from 2015 to 2018. The play, a monologue, moves through the mindscape of Hidimbi, a less-discussed character from the Mahabharata. A demoness, she gets married to Bhima, one of the Pandavas. But, eventually, she not only loses her love but also her brother, Hidumba, and her son, Ghatotkacha.
Keeping it simple
Hidimbi , originally scripted and directed by Gireesh C Palam, premièred in 2014. “It was a massive production with multimedia projection and 3D effects. The online version won’t have any of that. Except for a background score, there wouldn’t be any props or set. I don’t have the costume with me and I will be in a regular get-up,” says Gayathri, a trained classical dancer and assistant professor in Computer Science at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore.
“I was approached by the cultural centre to stage a Mohiniyattam performance. It was my suggestion to do the play. Since non-Malayalis will also be watching it, I translated it into English,” adds the artiste.
Calling it “an experiment”, Gayathri says that adapting the art to online platforms for the time being is a viable option for theatre artistes. “While cinema has an audience on OTT platforms, we can’t expect that to happen for theatre. It is an attempt to prove that nothing is impossible. I am nervous because I am not sure whether I would be able to do justice to the nuances of the character when I do it in English,” says Gayathri, who made her début in theatre with the character.
The play begins with Hidimbi searching for Ghatotkacha’s dead body in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. She then goes down memory lane, remembering her romance with Bhima, their marriage, her brother’s death and how Bhima left her on her own in the forest when she was pregnant.
“This an attempt to keep theatre artistes motivated as most of them are disheartened having stayed away from the stage for four months now,” says Anandapadmanabhan.
Gayathri will be going live from a hall at Hosur where she currently stays. The play will be streamed on the page https://www.facebook.com/ICCRSriLanka on August 1 from 5.30 pm.
