KOCHI: The evolution from theatre to celluloid is quite common. But the reverse, to adopt the realistic theatrical elements, that too after adorning the crown of a super star, is a challenging task.
But theatre buffs in Kochi saw two actors taking up this challenge with Chayamukhi at the JT Pac on Saturday. They witnessed the bare acting potential of Mohanlal and Mukesh with their portrayal of Bheemasena and Keechaka.
Mohanlal successfully portrayed the inner conflicts of Bheema and by exposing the strange and sensitive mind of the conventional anti-hero Keechaka, Mukesh tried to give a novel outlook to this epic character.
Chayamukhi is the theatrical version of a spark taken from the great epic Mahabharatha, of Kalidasa.
The play begins with the monologues of Bheema in which he unfolds his never ending journey with his beloved brothers and sweetheart Draupadi. Even amidst thumping victories over his opponents, Bheema experiences loneliness. He express his grief over his lost love even after leasing his faith on Draupadi.
During their journey to the Kingdom of Virata, savage girl Hidumbi falls in love with Bheema and gifts him the mystic mirror Chayamukhi. After she asks him to look into the mirror, she realises that Bheema is filled with ardent love for Draupadi.
As a result, she vanishes in the forest after presenting Chayamukhi to Bheema.
From this point Chayamukhi becomes a major character in the play. Ironically, the magic mirror unveils the little known facts that are in the minds of all the characters.
Accompanied by the nostalgic folk tunes of Vidhyadhran Master, Keechaka enters the dais in a hysteric mood and the play attains a new ambience as Mohanlal and Mukesh compete with each with their acting prowess. Prasanth Narayanan, the director of the play, has done a good job with Chayamukhi. In his well designed script the director tries to convey the hollowness of human love. He tries convey the message that to be loved is the rarest fortune in this material life.
The stage technique used to visualise the mindset of Draupadi, who looks into Chayamukhi, is really spectacular.
Bheema and Arjuna were positioned in the centre stage with their backs to each other. Draupadi’s stirring mind, which is affectionate towards Arjuna, is narrated through the rotation of Bheema and Arjuna.
Through Keechaka, the director narrates the inefficiency of humans to contain the boundless beauty of nature, to satisfy the never ending lust that tempts his ambitions and the inefficiency of his small palms to contain nature’s boundless flowers.
The dialogues at the end of the play is sure to have stirred the minds of the audience.
While Bheema tries to kill Keechaka, he notices Draupadi’s face in Chayamukhi, viewed by Keechaka. Realising Keechaka’s urge to own Draupadi, Bheema feels pity for Keechaka.
Keechaka replies, “Bheema, please kill me. Otherwise you may see my face in Chayamukhi because of the soft hearted approach spontaneously formed in your mind towards me.” The drama ends with a monologue from Bheema which reveals the bitter truth that love is often killed by the arrow of reality, dipped in the highly toxic pretension, which deceives mankind.
By merging the technical skill of the make up man Pattanam Rasheed with the aesthetic sense of artist Namboothiri, the director presented the characters in an ethnic style with the grandeur of traditional costumes. With the natural stage and folk melody by composers Vidhyadharan and Mohan Sithara, the director crafted a fantasy mood throughout the play.
Chayamukhi turned out to be a specially designed laboratory of acting for Mohanlal and Mukesh, who tried to exploit the talents hidden in their persona.
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