The name of the play -- Parahita Paashana -- seems like a contradiction. The word Parahita which is ‘in the interest of the other’ doesn’t seem the best adjective to paashaana which means ‘poison’. Seethamma, hands over a glass of juice to a man, who breathes his last, after drinking it. It cuts to the scene where Seethamma is having her usual talk with the priest of her locality who praises Seethamma and her sister Akkayyamma for their charities. These two scenes intensify the contrast that the title of the play conveys.
The original play Arsenic and Old Lace was written by Joseph Kesselring in 1939, and has been adapted to Kannada by Prof. B. Chandrashekar. He has done a meticulous job of the translation, such that the narrative does not seem alien to the audience. From replacing Theodore Roosevelt to an Indian Army officer, elderberry wine to sharabatthu (juice), soup to menasina saru (pepper rasam), Einstein to Dr. Karunanidhi etc., Chandrashekar has contextualized the story from an American setting to a South Indian imagination. The name Vishakhanta given to one of the cousins who is obsessed with plastic surgery suited the character better than the name ‘Jonathan’ in English. Regarding sequencing of the scenes, one feels the second scene with the priest should have been the first as keeping the murderous scene later would have held the suspense as in the original script.
Deepika Aradhya as Seetamma looked ancient and carried herself gracefully throughout the play. The witty character was complemented by her elder sister Akkayyamma played by Anusha Bhat. Akka (the lean one) completed Seeta (the plump one) in physicality and characterisation: they were quite a riot on stage.
Deepak Garemane as Krishna who lives with the sisters, was a true military man in his acting. The way Krishna made the police officers salute and report to him, made everyone think that he must have been a retired army personnel. His regular march pasts, bugle calls and concern for the current political scenario provided music to the drama. His loud steps and mechanical speech added rigour to his character. When his acts and apprehensions of warfare are deliberately neglected by the ménage, we realise he is psychotic. Krishna is under the belief that he is an army officer and lives inthe Himalayan range. For him, if the old bungalow’s upper floor is the mountainous terrain, its cellar is the Himalayan valley. Krishna’s character is a prominent substance for the satirical narrative.
The story though complex in its idea, comes across as light because of its dark humour. Seeta and Akka poison the old men who come to them looking for a room. The cruel act is made hilarious by the explanation the sisters provide. For them, they are serving those who are lonely, gifting them a painless death. Seeta telling Akka, “See, how content and peaceful these faces are!” with a broad smile, pointing at one of the dead bodies, captures the casualness and satisfaction the sisters feel about their work.
If the original script represented the contradictions of mid-twentieth century America, Parahita Paashaana in Kannada could transmit the contradictions at personal, family and societal levels in India. Madhava, the only sane person in the household stands at crossroads in dealing with varied kinds of insanities around him.
Director Shankar Billemane has toiled on the actors to bring out their best on the stage. The choreography of the last scene where the sisters, Krishna, Vishakhanta along with his doctor-companion occupy the stage triangularly, brought together three different kinds of disturbed states of human mind, around which the story is formed. When the three groups started walking, standing in fixed positions, the motion conveyed that these characters can transcend time and fiction, and visit us in the most unpredictable forms.
