Adya Rangacharya’s play from the 1950s Kelu Janamejaya transcends time as Prashant Jede’s Hindi directorial takes the floor this weekend! Prashant Jade who helms the XpressionZ Crew found the story striking when he had the chance to meet the playwright’s daughter herself, and learnt more. “I happened to meet Adya Rangacharya’s daughter who told me more about the play, how her father wrote it and from what perspective. In three acts, we portray that nature overrules experience, youth and common sense when it comes to mastering life. In the second act, the four characters of an old man, young man, common man and woman are put in a realistic situation. A futuristic development office where they work for the development of the society decides how these characters behave according to their desires and wants. The climax leads to the conclusion that whosoever you are, death and nature take the final call.”
The playwright’s vision precedes any given timeline. The generalisation of the characters makes it so relatable as Anuraag Puthige who plays the role of the young man says, “The character is a guy who thinks his youth makes him great and believes that the world progresses because of his energy. But as the story progresses, he learns of other factors that makes life what it is.”
The play had been adapted in Hindi for the Bengaluru audience as the characters are those that we still aptly relate to. Sadhvi Sharma who essays the woman’s role says, “Adapting to this style of theatre with a strong reference to age-old themes made this a difficult role to crack. There was a lot to learn from Prashant as he’s incredibly passionate about what he does. My role as a female or stree had to be individualistic and it is a clear depiction of the female. As the generations pass by the idea of ‘female’ changes.” Arjit Srivastava adds, “This is an old-school play with heavy metaphors and acts. It was difficult to strike a balance between the old school setting and the current scenario.”
As they prep for their 10th show, Suno Janamejaya has seen incredible response so far and Saurav Verma comments, “The characters will make you question existence and the meaning of life, which is not something that we think about every day. It’s simple to be lost in the course of life and Suno Janamejaya has a quality of wow as it tells you what life is like. We hope that our audience goes back with the core values that we have tried to present. There’s a lot for content here for everyone.”
— Suno Janamejaya will be staged on Saturday in Tortilla House, Koramangala at 7.30 pm.
