The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Gandhi-Ambedkar’ in Bangalore

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Friday, Aug 31, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

‘Gandhi-Ambedkar’ in Bangalore

Staff Reporter

The play will be staged on September 1 and 2

Bangalore: The Mysore-based Natana is set to launch the play “Gandhi-Ambedkar” at Ranga Shankara in Bangalore on September 1 and 2.

The play is a Kannada version of Premanand Gajvi’s Marathi play that created a sensation in Marathi theatre circles in 1990. It “experiments” with truths — whether freedom of the nation was of utmost importance or liberation of the oppressed people. Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar are the protagonists, with a conscience keeper as an intruding agent. The play is translated into Kannada by D.S. Chowgle and directed by the former director of Rangayana C. Basavalingaiah. While G.B. Narayanaswamy and Hemraj (Gautam) will appear in the roles of Gandhi and Ambedkar, Lokesh Basavatti, Prashanth, Vikas, Rajnikanth and Ramu will play clowns. R. S. Nanadkumar has scored the music.

“Gandhi-Ambedkar” sets the stage for a discussion between two great minds over their ideological, political and human stances and on the question of according priority to the issues of freedom of the country and the liberation of the unfortunate lot from poverty and serfdom. The theme, which culminates in an ideological clash of titans, runs through the past, present and future times in perceptive, assertive and suggestive manners through, gestures, actions and dialogues, says the director Basavalingiah. The playwright has attempted to wriggle out the truths of the issue and perceives both leaders in a fresh perspective through a regularly intruding clownish third character. The third character gains equal importance as it is blessed with the Falstaffian kind of human and political insights and capable of delivering Aristotelian kind of cathartic effect on the other two. The play ventures to expose the disapproving ideological aspects of both Gandhi and Ambdedkar through the objective observations of the traditional vidushaka who is also the sutradhara of the play. For theatre and film artiste Mandya Ramesh, experimenting with the play, “Gandhi –Ambedkar”, is another step towards realising his dream to build a small theatre.

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