Jostling for space in a busy cultural weekend, as is often the case these days, is a fresh interpretation of Bhima, the mighty Pandava warrior known for single-handedly decimating vast legions of his foes on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Bengaluru-based group Our Theatre will stage their koodiyattam-inspired but resolutely contemporary Bhima this weekend at Studio Tamaasha, a venue that has been consistently hitting the mark with its curatorial choices of late. The play is directed by Anitha Santhanam, and the titular character will be performed by the robust Vivek Vijayakumaran. Alongside him, the redoubtable Sachin Gurjale will serve both as the de facto narrator and musical accompanist on instruments like the tambourine, the conch and the West African djembe. It has been sporadically touring the country for three years now, having premiered at Shoonya, a centre for art and somatic practices, in 2015.
Character analysis
Looking Vijayakumaran traces the genesis of the project to a 2011 rehearsed reading of excerpts from Child Man: The Selfless Narcissist by Ashok Malhotra, in which archetypal characters from the Mahabharata were used to make a comment on urban living. Vijayakumaran read the part of Bhima, discovering a strong emotional connect with him, “This was an exploration of his vulnerable side. He was very inclusive as a family member, a very duty-bound man.” Apart from his own research and insights, Malhotra’s book drew from tomes by Irawati Karve and M.T. Vasudevan Nair, whose novel, Randamoozham was a retelling of the epic through Bhima’s point of view, and provided strong references to Vijayakumaran, who now longed to essay the character himself.
A chance encounter with the ancient form of koodiyattam on stage was especially eye-opening for Vijayakumaran. “I was struck by the depth and density to an actor’s actions. This is not usually seen in contemporary performers,” he says. It took him to Irinjalakuda, one of the foremost centres of koodiyattam in the country, where he would submit to several months of training over two years, under the noted Sooraj Nambiar, in order to harness the forcefulness of delineation that could perhaps prove to be the best conduit with which to bring alive Bhima on stage. “As an urban actor training in a classical form, I wanted to arrive at an idiom of expression that wasn’t necessarily as codified as koodiyattam is, but owned its beauty and gravitas,” elaborates Vijayakumaran.
Passionate journey
At Irinjalakuda, Vijayakumaran focused his energies on a stirring episode in the play Kalyanasougandhikam, in which Bhima observes an elephant jousting with both a python and a lion, his own internal conflicts mirrored by the feral skirmish. This provides a take-off point to Bhima. Of course, the rigours of classical training took its toll on the actor. “A lot of time was spent only recuperating from the intense sessions, which raised doubts about my ability to take on such a physically demanding form,” remembers Vijayakumaran. A solo performer’s journey is also very lonely and arduous — this was before he had acquired a team. However, encouragement from the great Kanhailal himself at Kalakshetra Manipur, where Vijayakumaran visited often, and a final training schedule in Kerala which proved particularly fruitful helped him inch past the finishing line.
By this point, collaborators Gurjale and light designer Anish Victor had already come on board. An important signpost, a few shows in, was the arrival of Santhanam — the play underwent an overhaul under her direction. “I was finding it difficult to wear many hats in the production, so Anitha was a godsend who helped shaped the play into its current form,” says Vijayakumaran, gratefully. Although text is an important part of the play, its mainstay is a physical grammar that is complemented perfectly by Gurjale’s award-winning soundscape performed live. Ultimately, the two performers serve up a Bhima whose heroic credentials are played down certainly, but not at the cost of his undeniable humanity.
Bhima will be staged at Studio Tamaasha, Versova on September 2 at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Published - August 30, 2018 08:20 pm IST
