‘Banayudham’ , written by Balakavi Rama Sasthrikal, is a brilliant play in Kathakali set to Thekkanchitta (Kaplingadan style). The structured pakrannattam (an actor portraying other characters in the play in addition to his/her role) and lyricism make the play stand out. Although a full performance of the play is a rarity, one comes across many performances of ‘Usha-Chithralekha’, an excerpt from the play. However the entire play was staged at Sree Vallabha Temple, Thiruvalla.
The story is about the humbling of the arrogant King Bana, son of Mahabhali, and also about the romance of his daughter Usha, who falls in love with Anirudha, Lord Krishna’s grandson and Bana’s arch enemy.
The gradual evolution of the story and the adoption of rasas such as veeram, hasyam, sringara, raudram, karunam and bhayanakam and the romanticism of the ‘Usha-Chithralekha’ episode are the characteristics that popularised the play.
The 85-year-old thespian Madavoor Vasudevan Nair in his majestic Thiranottam (entrance on the stage), pakarnattam , andGopuramaattam (depiction of Bana’s portal) excelled in the portrayal of King Bana, a role that was immortalised by Guru Chengannoor Raman Pillai. The brilliant percussion rendered by Kalamandalam Krishnadas (chenda) and Kalamandalam Achutha Warier (madhalam) punctuated his dramatic expressions, body postures and hand gestures.
Sadanam Vijayan, Kalanilayam Gopalakrishnan and Kalamandalam Prasanth enactied the roles of Usha, Chithralekha and Anirudhan respectively. Kalamandalam Sreekumar also essayed Bana.
