Actor Sajitha Madathil has made herself at home in theatre and cinema with roles of substance. Differences between the stage and the screen come across as challenges for Sajitha who makes sure that every role of hers stands out.
Even while her latest play Kali Naatakam goes places with its powerful theme of women’s empowerment, she will also be seen in the lead as the mother of three daughters in a film, Pareeth Pandari , that is in theatres.
She admits that there is a greater involvement when it comes to theatre as there is a continuity in the arc of a play unlike a film that might take weeks or months to be completed. “The challenges are different as the medium is different. In a movie, one cannot sustain a mood or an emotion for long. That is dictated by the scene. On the contrary in a play, there is an arc or a trajectory for the play and that mood or energy is easier to sustain than in a film,” she feels.
Striking a chord
She remembers how during a performance in Assam, she was immersed in her role of Kali and getting into the mood of the play, she jumped from the stage and fell down awkwardly, fracturing her leg in the process. “Although I was in pain, I was able to complete the play and none guessed how badly I had been injured until the play was over. The next performance was in Sikkim. Instead of standing or moving on stage, I performed the entire play while sitting in a chair. It was a huge success and spectators did not guess there was anything amiss. Theatre gives you that connect with the audience and also that flexibility,” she explains.
Talking about Kali Naatakam that will be staged in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday as part of the National Theatre Festival, she says it was a mix of nostalgia and concern about the state of women today that motivated her to write Kali Naatakam .
Sajitha Madathil
Sajitha remembers how young girls in North Kerala were told to “restrain the Kali” if they flew into a rage or did something in a huff. “In essence, it meant to take a chill pill...But that usage stayed with me all these years and it was at the back of my mind when I began writing Kali Naatakam ,” says Sajitha.
The play, designed and directed by Chandradasan of Lokadharmi, Kochi, is a strong wake-up call to women to empower themselves and react against injustice.
Having grown up in Kozhikode, Sajitha was familiar with rituals and local traditions revolving around the worship of Kali such as Theyyam, Mudiyettu, Kalamezhuthu, Kaliyoottu and so on. In all the various rituals, once Kali had fulfilled her mission of killing Darika, a demon, her anger and rage had to reined in or propitiated with prayers and rituals.
“I felt that the same situation was applicable to many women who are pulled out of domesticity and thrown into the electoral arena when certain wards became reserved for women. As long as the ward remains reserved for women, they go about their roles as president and what not and, to their credit, many do a good job. But at the end of their term, these empowered women are expected to return to the kitchen or whatever it was they were doing previously. The women could not do that. Once they are empowered, they cannot simply turn a switch off and return to their previous roles. It is as if a patriarchal society only want women to be empowered for a particular task or tasks,” she muses.
Relevant theme
The award-winning actor deftly gives the play a contemporary relevance by pondering aloud on the idea of womanhood in the modern day. Kali Naatakam unfolds with the revival of a ritual in a village where it was banned 50 years ago after it went awry with the woman enacting Kali actually killing the man playing Darika.
“What follows next is not a part of the ritual as history repeats itself and the man enacting Darika is killed,” say Sajitha who has been staging the play all over India ever since its premiere in Kochi in August, 2016. Giving it a present-day twist, the Dalit activist’s act in the presence of the police, media and devotees, gives the playwright and actor the chance to debate and discuss the roles played by the authorities, the media and the believers. “The roles played by each is examined and the play concludes by exhorting viewers to empower themselves to battle injustice,” says Sajitha.
(Kali Naatakam will staged at Tagore Theatre at 6 pm on Friday )
