Kerala Cafe was a milestone in Malayalam cinema. For one, it was an anthology — the first such venture in the industry. It was one of the movies that set off a new wave in Mollywood — a much-needed break from the moustache-twirling superstars. Director Ranjith brought together 10 directors for the anthology. Ranjith is on a new mission now. This time, he has come up with a play, Maratta Cafe. This will be the first play directed by him and marks his union with many of his friends like Shyamaprasad, V.K. Prakash, Muralee Menon, Manu Jose and Cuckoo Parameswaran.
These friends, who are alumni of the Thrissur School of Drama, have reunited for a special reason. The play will be the first one under Sankara Pillai Arts and Cultural Ensemble (SPACE), which is a foundation in the name of noted playwright G. Sankara Pillai, the founder director of the School of Drama and their teacher. “Recently, there was a reunion of Sankara Pillai sir’s students and the idea of the foundation came up then. The formal inauguration of SPACE takes place today. So we thought, why not stage a play as a part of the inauguration? That’s how we zeroed in on Maratta Cafe, bringing together some of the alumni of the School of Drama,” says Ranjith.
The script of Maratta Cafe is written by Muralee Menon. It’s based on Harold Pinter’s famous play The Dumb Waiter. “The play is an independent adaptation. The story is adapted to Indian scenario, and it is set in Pune in 1995. There are only two characters, essayed by Muralee and Manu. They are stuck in a space for a mission. In between, they share their thoughts, discusses a few things which shed light on various social issues, too,” adds Ranjith. They have been planning to unite for a play for long, but it didn’t happen owing to their movie schedules and other commitments. “Muralee wrote this play long back. We can’t always wait for the right time to arrive. So, this time we took a break and decided to do it. Harold Pinter was one of the favourite writers of Sankara Pillai. So, I believe there isn’t a better one than Maratta Cafe to stage as our first play.”
Shyamaprasad dons a different role for the play. He is handling music. V.K. Prakash coordinates the play and Cuckoo is in charge of the costumes. The play has also support of the professionals like cinematographer Alagappan, who handles the lighting; FTII product Ajayan Adat does the sound design, makeup is by Roshan and stage design, by Sabareesh. The play is presented by Ranjith’s Capitol Theatre. “This is just a start. We will come up with more plays; the foundation aims at it. We needed a collective to do plays and that has happened now. Plays with interesting subjects should happen here. Moreover, Malayalam plays should get a reach outside Kerala and India. Whether it is the arrangement or production, more professionalism should come into theatre,” says Shyamaprasad.
Muralee, who is so active in theatre, is absolutely thrilled that his play is getting staged today. “I’ve worked on many plays outside India. Their approach towards theatre is more professional. Instead of going for experimentations, they do dramas that give importance to actors and actions. Such sort of plays should happen here, too. I did attempt one such project earlier, but it didn’t work out well. Now, with the formation of SPACE, I think the right time has come,” says Muralee.
The rehearsals took place at Wayanad and Ala, a performing centre opened by Manu Jose at Mulanthuruthy. “Being a person involved in theatre, I know the difficulties faced by artistes. Ala will be one place where artistes will feel comfortable,” says Manu.
Coming to his character, he says, “Both these characters have goodness in them. However, their situations place them in different poles of life. We’ve seen friends turning foes quickly at different situations. The subject of the play is very much relevant in today’s context.”
The play will be staged at JTPAC at 6.30 pm. The team is also bringing the concept of ticketed plays. “You can’t watch a movie without taking a ticket. But we don’t have such a system for plays here. The system is followed in theatres in Mumbai and we should adopt it, too. The play has been made at the highest standards and the viewers will definitely feel it. We should encourage ticketed plays so that quality projects happen,” says Ranjith.
He affirms he didn’t feel much pressure when he directed the play. “With talented and experienced actors like Muralee and Manu, it’s always easy. Though I was always active in movies, there hasn’t been a day which passed without me thinking or talking about drama. Now, the fire is lit and our plan is to come up with more interesting plays,” he wraps up.
