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The makeover of Ravana
HARIPRIYA NAMBUDIRI
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‘Ravanothbhavom’ deals with Dasamukha’s transformation into Ravana.
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Test of artistry: Kalamandalam Harinarayanan as Dasamukha.
‘Ravanothbhavom’ is the story of Ravana’s penance to Brahma to gain power and conquer the world. It is said that the story of ‘Ravanothbhavom’ was presented before Kaplingad Namboothiri, an exponent of Kathakali, and asked to make necessary changes by the ruler of erstwhile Kochi.
Kaplingad Namboothiri with the help of Ittiri Menon and Unniri Panikkar choreographed it differently and presented it the very next day. Since then, ‘Ravanothbhavom’ has been staged the way it was presented by Kaplingad Namboothiri.
The title ‘utbhavom’ itself signifies the transformation of Dasamukha (as Ravana was called) into Ravana. This is a story that demands the proper blend of cholliyattom and characterisation.
Testing ground
Ravanotbhavom is considered the testing ground of artistes as it requires immense stamina and energy to do justice to the play.
The success of the play depends on the artiste’s capacity to balance physical training and character orientation. Every gesture and movement is timed and fixed to the thalam and the structure is definite and finite. The challenge to an artist is to bring out his best in this framework.
Thrissur Kathakali Club organised a recital of this play with Kalamandalam Harinarayanan playing Dasamukha. Harinarayanan captivated the audience by portraying Ravana’s vigour and strength through his gestures and body movements.
Harinarayanan, a product of Kerala Kalamandalam, was tutored by Kalamandalam Vasu Pisharody and Balasubramanian. In his second stage as Ravana in ‘Ravanautbhavom,’ Harinarayanan took the audience through the stress and strain Ravana underwent in his penance to Brahma. After about one- and-a-half hour of atom, come padams that are bound to the structure of ilakiyattom and an artist has no respite but to follow it strictly. An artist has to consistently prove himself and this is the reason why this play is considered a pedestal to prove oneself.
Team effort
Kathakali has always been a team effort and the success of a performance depends on the cohesion of the members and their team spirit. This was once again proved during the recital with each member contributing his best. Nedumpally Rammohan as the anchor on thalam, Kalamandalam Balasunder and Nandakumar on the chenda, and Kalamandalam Sasi and Rajnarayanan on the maddalam provided the right ambience for the play.
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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