Sustaining in the entertainment industry that has something new to offer with every turn is no mean feat. Yet, Dummies Drama has created a niche for itself by entertaining audiences for 25 years.
To celebrate their silver jubilee year, they will be presenting a ten-day drama festival from August 18.
A detailed chat with V Srivathson, one of the three founders, revealed that Dummies hardly bargained for the collective audience response when they inaugurated their debut play WoMen’s Rea. The three Chartered Accountant friends — the other two being R Giridharan and G Krishnamurthy — formed the troupe “Just for the heck of it.”
Sri (his name shortened as his popularity heightened) concedes that he got tired of viewing the social plays and the comedy ones churned out by those who were calling the shots in the 80s and 90s.
“The idea was to break the shackles of the monotony which had enveloped the Tamil theatre. Close observation revealed that the audience had got tired of it but had no options to express their feelings. Our inaugural play was on the travails of a bank manager, on an investigative spree to unearth the disbursement of huge loans to ineligible ones. The way the script followed the course of an individual, caught in the game of lies and deceit, simply floored the packed audience. The way they interacted among themselves and the warmth of congratulations pumped up the bunch. With that kind of start, the flow could be compared with that of Sachin, when in full flow,” shares Sri.
The trio soon zeroed in on the name Dummies Drama. Explaining the idea behind it, Sri says that an artiste is only reprising the character of another individual. “In more ways than one, he is no more than a dummy, and only a pawn in the hands of the director, who moulds the character. The floodgates did not exactly open in the first play but the subsequent ones had the audience lapping those and yelling for more,” he adds.
The USP of the troupe was in going for unconventional themes on the face of it but with the confidence of the audience acknowledging the honest efforts. How a simple error could cost an individual was detailed with facts in Udyogam Vayasu Lakshanam. Tapping into the middle-class mentality, Sri reveals that two of his plays — Vinodha Vidhumarai and Payanam — brought out the essence and importance of family vacation which goes a long way to thicken the bond.
“Imagining such plays being shot within four walls, the dialogues going a long way to keep the audience connected. Theatre is all about the dramatic ways but in Dummies, there is a style in presenting and executing,” he says.
Sri believes his magnum opus in the world of theatre has to be Dhariniyin Perumai, which was a tribute to the crown jewel of the legal fraternity, Nani Palkhivala, staged on his birth centenary year. “Through razor-sharp dialogues, the play harped on the realism that democracy is a boon and knowledge is power. It is through the combination of democracy and knowledge that the nation can reach to greater heights. The punchline of the country not being underdeveloped but only ruled by underdeveloped minds had the audience transfixed,” he shares.
For Sri, the pillar of support is his elder brother V Sridhar, whose mere presence on the stage with the centre mike as his permanent companion, is good enough for the audience to be assured in for a treat. “In the formative years, I would write and direct the plays with music handled by Giridharan and Krishnamurthy designing the sets. They have moved away due to professional commitments. Sridhar is my Man Friday, a pillar of support right from the narrative stage of the script to the execution. He has shouldered the responsibilities in true fashion of the eldest member of the family,” he says.
Having dabbled in every genre, Sri says Athith is high on his favoured list, staged over 150 times along with the other crowd-puller Vinodya Chhhitham. The latter, staged in 2004, found the appreciation of director K Balachander, whose good words prompted his protege Samuthira Kani, to make it a movie in the OTT platform.
Sri dreams of churning out a full-length musical play with production standards on par with Broadway, New York. A first step towards this is Ninnai Saranadaindhen, slated for five days after the revisit of his five old plays, from August 18 to 27 at Narada Gana Sabha.
The 110-minute play will be a visual spectacle with the presence of 30 dancers, 24 females and six males in the mix.
“It will be musically magical and magically musical unlike the tag of no logic, no magic in our earlier plays. You can deem it as a social play or a corporate play or one coated with a strong social message. All our plays had a suspense element for the audience to be drawn into and spelling out further could be a spoiler. All I can say is it will be a different kind of experience for my committed set of audience. True, I am keeping my fingers crossed as it is an experimental play. There is the fear lurking inside me but has taken heart to the famous saying that ‘Fear is the key that opens wallets and handbags,’” he says.
For the first time, Dummies Drama has veered from the budget-constrained ways. “This one is by far the richest production of the team. The earnings from the profession are invested in the passion for theatre. I have to acknowledge the support of friends and well-wishers, without whom the journey may well have shrieked to a grinding halt long ago,” he says with gratitude.
The latest play is also the 50th one for the writer-director. Sri says he has to wait for the audience’s nod for his spirits to soar and hold it literally in his hands. Well, the ownership rights are with him.