CHENNAI: Chanakya is well documented in the history books and well known for his wisdom and his role as the royal advisor for emperor Chandragupta Maurya. But he is also infamous for his cunning mind. So much that even today, a shrewd person is referred to as behaving like Chanakya. Srinivasan Shivapprasadh, in the footsteps of his uncle late RS Manohar, aims to unveil the goodness of misunderstood characters of Indian mythology. Chanakya Sabadham, originally written by Manohar, is an attempt to portray the faultlessness of Chanakya. Recreated by Srinivasan of Nataka ‘Kavalar Chemal’ RS Manohar NXG, the play will be staged at Mylapore Fine Arts Club on September 15.
Sharing more about the late uncle, Srinivasan says, “My uncle was a veteran dramatist who started his career in the 1950s. He started with plays with a social message and shifted to historical and mythological plays which portrayed the goodness of negative characters in the mythology. His first such play, Lankeswaran, showed the positive side of Ravana. Next was Chanakya Shapatham in 1966 in which he essayed the role of Chanakya. It was such a big hit that he staged it 766 times. The number would have been higher if he hadn’t forayed into cinema. The crisp and sharp dialogues written by Madurai Thirumaran had a great role in the success of his plays.”
Recalling the times when lived in a joint family in T Nagar, Srinivasan says, “My uncle ran his drama office from home where I grew up watching him discuss and rehearse plays. This made me want to venture into the same field and continue his legacy. My daughter, S Shruuti, is also into theatre.”
Chanakya Sabadham revolves around the humiliation of Chanakya as he attends the royal banquet at the palace of king Dhanananda of the Magadhananda Kingdom. He is ridiculed for having the audacity to attend a royal banquet despite being a poor brahmin. Chanakya vows not to tie his ‘shikha’ (tuft of hair at the back of the head) till he sees the destruction of king Dhananandha’s dynasty. “The play also shows Chanakya defending himself against allegations made by the apparitions of the people who died because of him. The play concludes with Chandragupta coming to power with Chanakya’s help,” he says.
Discussing historical stage plays and the theatre scene in the city, he admits that historical stage plays require extensive research work and support. “The battle scene, costumes and sets...every thing has to look authentic. It’s more than just colourful curtains and backdrop. There are hardly 12 sabhas in the city we can depend on and the monetary support is not much. Hence we are sometimes forced to perform outside the city,” he avers.
Srinivasan plays the role of Chanakya and director SS Sardarjee portrays the negative role of Rakshasa. Sardarjee portrayed the same role with Manohar and was an ardent follower of the dramatist. “Sardarjee has portrayed the role of the villain with two generations of actors and I am lucky to act as Chanakya opposite the same person who acted with Manohar,” he gushes.
Many hats
Srinivasan Shivapprasadh has produced numerous Malayalam films with top stars like Mohanlal, Mammootty and Jayaram. He introduced late Cochin Haneefa as a debutant director with the movie Oru Sandesam Koodi. National Award winners director Kamal and cameraman Azhagappan were also introduced by him. In 1990, he produced Naragasuran, a TV serial with the Chennai Doordarshan Kendra which had the highest viewership that year. After the Kargil war, he produced the Malayalam feature film The Salute about war widows turning into veer naaris, a concept enabled by Ranjana Malik, president of army wives welfare association. The film was appreciated by the then chief of army staff Gen. S Padmanabhan who appealed to then information and broadcast minister, Sushma Swaraj for the film to be dubbed into different languages and to be broadcast through Doordarshan Kendras.
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