CHENNAI: It is impossible to straighten a dog’s tail is a famous saying in Tamil. On that interesting title, Sowmya Theatres inaugurated its 28th play Naivall for Karthik Fine Arts to an appreciative audience at Narada Gana Sabha recently.
A poignant rewind
The travails of an actor to reach the pinnacle and the difficulty in staying there is brought out by actor-director PT Ramesh. Making the most of seasoned writer TV Radhakrishnan’s script, Ramesh goes to length to chronicle the life of an actor and keep the temptation door deliberately open to enter politics.
Not everyone could achieve that is detailed in a poignant way, from the time Thespian actor Sivaji Ganesh burnt his fingers foraying into an uncharted area. The director loses no time in how the matinee-idol MGR found the means to open a new door when his career as an actor had steeped into the borderline. He cites the example of NTR, who was seen as a God when he found new vistas occupying the CM’s chair. MGR’s protege Jayalalithaa taking a leaf out of her mentor’s book to brave all odds to achieve her dream could be also read between the lines.
Cut to the present era, Ramesh dwells on how Rajnikanth is wary of entering politics and Kamal Hassan playing his cards dexterously to rub shoulders with the big guns of politics. The message is loud and clear that not everyone is cut out for politics and only those with the ability to find the balancing act could reach the pinnacle of glory.
A message or the masses
The play is not just about the political game bringing to light the feelings of the lesser-privileged class in the tinsel world. Bringing livelihood to scores of people, the light boy sees the light at the end of the tunnel while the mass actor builds a solid star base around him but conveniently forgets in tune with the scenario.
The play begins with Prabhu-turned-Rajasimhan on the streets with a begging bowl when he is confronted by a youth (an assistant director), who recognises the actor and provides him succour. In a mood to share his feelings once his hunger is taken care of, the actor brings to light his success story, wedded to his co-star Sumathi and the strike rate of their success. Not heeding to the advice of his next-door neighbour to plunge into politics, who had helped him in the formative years had been his regret which had robbed him of his sleep.
The actor gets a second lease of life from his Man Friday and makes up for all the loss. The climactic act reveals that the actor had not learnt his lessons when an aspiring politician lures him with an irresistible offer. Money is the name of the game (both in politics and cinema), the director harps in with a sustained message that it pays to stick to one’s strong points.
Mere preaching would have robbed of the essence and thankfully it does not happen. Seasoned actor Ramesh easily slips into his character with an admirable foil from Ganesh Venkat, who plays the earlier version of Prabhu. Effectively narrated in flashbacks, the interest is sustained mainly through razor-sharp dialogues. Sans a female actor (budget constraint), the 90-minute journey of an actor should be well-entrenched in the audience’s minds, long after the dust is settled.
Fringe actors playing their part to the letter, mention must be made of Sekar as Srikrishna, Mother Creations Jayakumar (Ganesan), Mansingh (Salute Ramaya), Anand Srinivasan (Neelakantan) and Sriram (Politician). Set designs of Madurai Kannan effectively relayed the mood and Kalaivanar Kicha entrusted with the light effects and musical score doffed both hats with ease.