Kanthi is an overused term by advertisers to make a skin-whitening product more appealing to the public; a term that people mostly associate only with women’s skin colour. But if you ask Manoj Siva about Kanthi, he becomes eloquent about this term that is something very close to his heart. He says Kanthi is the light that shines through all darkness.
So who is Manoj Siva and what is Kanthi? Manoj is a lover of art, a master and disciple of the theatre art form. A trained percussionist, a lawyer, in his words “Travelled a lot, has played many musical instruments extensively, directed many plays, studied law and dabbled in other interests.”
But he adds that there is one thing that has remained constant in his life, “Absolute adoration of a woman’s spirit. Over the years, this adoration has become stronger. I’ve seen my friends, my sister, my wife - their nature to ‘give’ unites them in common. I feel most men appreciate only what makes them happy. A woman, however, loves and gives even if the man gives her bad experiences.”
Why focus on equality? “It so happened that three years ago for a Malayalee association formed by V. K. Krishna Menon, I was asked to come up with a subject for Women Empowerment Day, something different which dealt with the issues faced by women. When I thought about it, inequality is something that women face right from their home. Somehow because of the custom, equality is still hard to attain between men and women here.”
Explaining more about the play, he says, “I have connected Malayalam films to this play as films are easily imprinted on people’s minds. People relate to them. The challenge here was to adapt it on stage. If there is nothing new about the presentation, people will find it boring, especially because they know the story of these movies. In the UK, there is a culture of mixing movies and theatre, some movies are adapted on stage and some plays are adapted into movies. So why not such an experiment with Malayalam movies!”
“If Malayalam cinema is Kanthi’s cinematic connect, William Shakespeare’s Othello is its literary connect,” says Manoj. “The theme of Othello lends itself to the concept of Kanthi and hence Othello finds its resonance here. I portray Othello in a character called Perumalayan. It is an emotionally charged segment, it is poignant and moving for the audiences and the actors,” says Manoj.
Who is Kanthi? “Kanthi is an imagination — she is the guiding light for women who find themselves wronged and betrayed in love, life and its trials. Kanthi is their solace as she takes them to a world where love, freedom and equality in relationships form the pillars of existence. Kanthi comes in the form of a dance, the audience will understand each time it appears on stage. Each character that has endured inequality in a movie will be shown as receiving respect and equality in this play. They will be given Kanthi. This time, I will also include the girl who was brutally raped and murdered at Perumbavur,” explains Manoj. Kanthi will be played by Mira Mahesh.
What is the reception it has in the UK? “I am going to stage the play for the third time here. Every time I try and bring about changes to the play without disturbing its soul. This time, I have introduced a non-Indian to play the character of a clown. Even though it is a Malayalam play, the introduction of this character helps in giving it a universal feel. We have sold about 60-70 tickets to people from other nationalities this time.”
