The playwright who set minds aflame
C. GOURIDASAN NAIR
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S.L. Puram Sadanandan used theatre to fight injustice and oppression.
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He spoke to the commoner, each word of his a whiplash on the exploitative structures of modern-day Kerala.
FOR THE PEOPLE: S.L. Puram Sadanandan.
Modern Malayalam theatre has flourished mostly on three elements: the social tensions that they spoke about, the psychological drama that the playwrights weaved into their themes and the power of the spoken word. From `Pattabakki' to `Ningalenne Communistakki' and many others, scores of plays written in the 50s, 60s and 70s have set stages and minds aflame, speaking first about the hopes of a new dawn, then about dreams gone sour and, later, about a world that has come unstuck from its ethical and philosophical epicentre.
S.L. Puram Sadanandan, who passed away on September 16 at the age of 79, straddled a major part of this thematic space of Malayalam theatre, his plays speaking about the wretchedness of the feudal system, the spread of revolutionary fervour in Kerala and the disappointments, tribulations and anger of the victims of a merciless social system marked by corruption, joblessness and new forms of exploitation.
Fight against oppression
For S.L. Puram, theatre was a weapon to fight an oppressive and, often, unjust world. From his first play `Kudiyirakk' (`Eviction'), which crumbled under the thumbs of the censor during the pre-independence days, to his celebrated plays `Kattukuthira,' `Simham Urangunna Kadu,' `Agniputhri,' `Yagasala,' `Chirakuthedunna Pakshikal' and `Sathram,' S. L. Puram's attempt was to use his plays as a political tool.
He spoke to the commoner, each word of his a whiplash on the exploitative structures of modern-day Kerala. S.L. Puram's success lay in his ability to find drama in contemporary life situations and take his text to the very precipice of activist outburst, but rescue it from falling into the cavernous depths of sloganeering.
Fairly large oeuvre
S.L. Puram's is a fairly large oeuvre, some 49 plays, 120 film scripts, a collection of short stories, one novel (`Agnishuddhi') and a memoir (`Ayiram Varnangal').
Beginning with the award for the best play and direction at the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Samastha Kerala Sahithya Parishad for his `Oral Koodi Kallanayi,' S.L. Puram has won awards instituted by the Kerala Sahithya Akademi, Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi and the Government of Kerala.
He was also an acclaimed script writer and had won the national award for `Agrniputhri' in 1967 and the State Film Awards for the Best Film Script for `Oru Penninte Katha' in 1971 and `Yavanika' in 1982. He also scripted the film version of Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai's `Chemmeen,' a land mark film directed by Ramu Kariat, and such notable films of the late 60s and early 70s as `Kavyamela,' `Agniputhri,' `Punnapra-Vayalar,' `Karthika' and `Cochin Express' and later for Ramu Kariat's `Nellu.'
S.L. Puram was a Communist throughout his life and theatre for him was his way of participating in the political process. But before turning seriously to theatre, he played his part in building the Communist movement in Alappuzha, his mentor in both political and theatre activism being the legendary trade union leader R. Sugathan. Once during the turbulent 40s, he had to jump out through the classroom window and run for his life when police came searching for him.
He went underground for a year after the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising, but was arrested and had to spend one year behind bars.
His `Punyavalante Veettil Papikal,' criticising the Liberation Struggle to unseat the first E.M.S. Namboodiripad Government, was banned after being staged just six times. He reworked the text to create `Yagasala.'
`Kattukuthira,' one of the greatest hits in the history of Malayalam theatre, is remembered by almost everyone who has seen it and its central character was Kochuvava. `Kattukuthira' made his theatre group `Suryasoma,' founded in 1972, one of the most prominent banners in Kerala and the play itself went on set to record for the highest number of performances within the shortest possible period. The play was staged over 3,000 times within four years of its first production.
S. L. Puram's other characters, Anappara Vakkachan (`Kallukondoru Pennu') and Kalichakk Muhammad (`Yagasala'), would also remain etched in the memory of theatregoers for a long time to come.
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