A man of many layers
DIWAN SINGH BAJELI
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Meet actor Krishnan Kaladharan Nair.
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I try to interpret my characters to reflect the dilemma of modern man.
Photo: Shanker Chakravarty
MILESTONE The President APJ Abdul Kalam presenting the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award to Krishnan Kaladharan Nair.
He joined amateur theatre in Malayalam in the 1960s after having basic training in traditional theatrical forms and the martial art of Kerala. After working as an amateur artiste for a decade, a chance meeting with Kavalam Narayana Panikkar, a doyen of Indian theatre, deepened his artistic vision, heralding a new chapter in his career as an accomplished actor of traditional and classical Sanskrit theatre. The vigorous training and deep study of the Natya Shastra equipped Krishnan Kaladharan Nair to portray a number of challenging and complex characters, both classical and contemporary, with depth, sincerity and energetic grace which won him rave reviews and acclaim from discerning theatre-goers not only India but also abroad.
A versatile actor, who never stops learning, to grow in depth and to be in tune with the aesthetic demands of the contemporary audience, Kaladharan Nair recently received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2006 for his contribution to Indian theatre as an actor.
A commerce graduate, Kaladharan was born in 1950 in Neyyantinkara town in Kerala. He joined Sopana Repertory in Thiruvananthapuram in 1975 and played leading roles in Sanskrit and Malayalam plays under the direction of Panikkar. These productions include Bhasa's "Madhyama Vyayogam" (1979) and "Karanabharam" (1984) and Kalidasa's "Shakuntalam" (1980). These theatrical works have become milestones in the history of modern Indian theatre.
"As a director, playwright and scholar of Sanskrit and Malayalam dramas and theatre, Panikkar has greatly influenced me. I have yet to come across a theatre artiste of his calibre," says Kaladharan with a sense of pride.
Prior to his solo performance at the just ended festival of SNA, he has portrayed character interacting with other performers. Is he planning to do more solo performances? "This is my first solo enactment and perhaps the last one," he says. Why did he choose to present Bhasa's "Karanabharam"? "I played the role of Karana in Bhasa's `Karanabharam' staged by Sopana as far back as 1984. Karana is a great tragic hero. Disowned by his own mother, Kunti, cursed by his guru, Parashurama, insulted and humiliated by his kith and kin, Karana is a paragon of philanthropy who gives away his invincible armour to god Indra. The kind of intense agony he experiences, the dilemma he confronts and the immense physical and mental prowess he is endowed with have left an indelible impression on me. So I decided to portray this multi-dimensional, multi-layered character through a solo performance."
Actor, director, playwright
Founder of Rasika Arts and Cultural Society in Thiruvananthapuram in 1986, he is also a director and a playwright. "But I am basically an actor; I enjoy portraying characters in full view of the audience. To establish a rapport with spectators and be identified by them has its own rewards and creative excitement. A playwright works away from the audience all alone in his study room, a director mostly interacts with his actors."
It was in the 1990s, when members of Footbarn Theatre from France came to India to conduct a theatrical workshop. "Out of several participants from different South Indian states, the organisers selected me to work in France. I stayed there for two years enacting the lead of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey which travelled all over France, England, Ireland, Colombia, Spain and India in the mid-1990s. This was a great experience as an actor for me. In fact, Footbarn Theatre is an actor's theatre; there is no director. I had the liberty to use three languages — French, Malayalam and English."
What is the state of Sanskrit theatre in India?
"There is hardly any Sanskrit theatre in India. In Kerala we are doing Sanskrit plays with elements of Kudiyattam and Kathakali, folk and ritual arts. These elements are expressed through body language, interpreting a classic in modernist idiom for today's audience. If you call it Sanskrit theatre, it is only being practised in Kerala." Kaladharan is a modern actor. "I try to interpret my characters to reflect the dilemma of modern man." He has just completed the production of "Durabhangam" highlighting the destructive character of war.
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