CHENNAI: Yaamirakka Bayameen” was the first dialogue S Sruuthi uttered, barely at age three. That was for a school drama in her alma mater PSBB 18 summers ago. Now, she is an actor and director with big dreams for the Tamil theatre.
Belonging to the legacy of veteran theatre artist RS Manohar, the stage is where Sruuthi’s heart lies. Each role, each story is a challenge that she welcomes with open arms. “In life, anything is a challenge. My long years in the field and getting into the act when just three had been the training ground that no coaching manual could have taught. My father is a huge inspiration and is open to all ideas. He has set lofty standards, taking over the legacy of my grandfather RS Manohar. I could never have been short of inspiration, having learned the hard lessons from a vantage point,” she shares.
Making records
The shelves in her house are filled with awards. Her recent achievement is a record by the IWR Foundation in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, for a play Immortal Martyrs that she co-directed with her father S Shivpprasadh. A multilingual play in eight different languages, it is based on 10 Indian freedom fighters. It was unique for its innovative addition to the repertoire of their plays, she says. “On Gandhi Jayanthi, it was a fulfilling moment to pay homage to the valiant freedom fighters who had sacrificed their precious lives to secure the nation’s independence. The Indian struggle for freedom is an epic tale that spans generations. Across the various regions of India, numerous freedom fighters had made supreme sacrifices for the cause of liberty,” she says.
On winning the fulsome audience praise in the way the historical narratives were captured in a series of short plays, presented in different regional languages, Sruuthi says it was an ambitious endeavour involving meticulous work of six months and the involvement of artistes, who gave everything to it.
Fittingly, Sruuthi played the Velu Nachiar, coming in as a perfect finale to the episodes of Alluri Sitarama Raju in Telugu, Sangolli Rayanna (Kannada), Ali Musliyar (Malayalam), Sardar Udham Singh (Hindi), Loka Maanya Bala Gangadhara Thilak (Marathi), UK-based English Indian Freedom Fighter Charles Freer Andrews in English and Subramania Bharathiyar in Sanskrit, with Tirupur Kumaran and Sri Aurobindo in Tamil.
Awards galore
Awards have chased Sruuthi, be it the one from Mylapore Academy recognising her contribution to Tamil stage or a record five from Karthik Fine Arts in last year’s Kodai Nataka Vizha. Her directorial Tharaiye Meyl Pirakka Vaiethaan was the showpiece event and was the talking point long after the event was over.
Sruuthi is also the recipient of the MS Fellowship award bestowed by Shanmughananda Society recently in Mumbai — a first for a Tamil artiste in drama. “I felt honoured that the award was a collective reward for the stage fraternity, doing their might over the years. I was left speechless and in tears seeing my name inscribed in a height of 15 feet. An award on the 107th birth anniversary of legend MS Subbulakshmi is one worth its weight in gold. That was a moment worth living for and nothing else can match that magical one,” she shares.
For Sruuthi, the recognition meant a lot as her play competed with the seasoned ones in the industry. “I did not let the pressure come in the way. The bottom line was to give my best shot without any expectation of the reward. An artiste has to bask in the moment and no prize can be greater than the audience's approbation. That line of thinking has evolved me into a stronger person. These are days where I relish a challenge and the joy is total when the execution is perfect,” she notes.
Stage and studies
At just 21, Sruuthi is prepared for the long road ahead. Ideally, she would like to balance her total involvement in theatre with her professional commitment, to pursuing a management degree. “The audience patronage in recent times to Tamil theatre is phenomenal. I could see a transition in the way the audience accepted the offerings and poured in their comments. The feedback is imperative as it will spur both the artiste in me and the director to look for scripts of value and substance,” she says.
If variety is the spice of life, Sruuthi is for it in theatre. “I would like to surprise the audience with my offerings and not just restricted to a set pattern. Historical, mythological and social plays are fine and had to be juxtaposed well. The shuffle has to be theatre to sustain the audience's interest. An artiste will do well to remember that the audience could be in all forms including a seizable younger generation, who are constant in my plays,” she says.
A final year B.Com student at MOP Vaishnav College for Women, Sruuthi stepped into actor Kamal Haasan’s shoes in an inter-collegiate show. “I had to enact the way Kamal would have reacted when he is stuck in a sinking ship, where he had to convince the captain of the ship that he is the best choice to get the only life jacket available. Three judges were unanimous to adjudge me the winner based on the content delivered, association with the character’s personality, body language, humour content and the convincing portrayal,” she shares, adding she is game to act in a movie alongside the legend if the offer comes.
If the Tamil stage is safe and brimming with optimism, it is thanks to the likes of Sruuthi. It is her desire to set new highs in her chosen world. “I am not the type to set a goal and take joy in achieving that. The best lesson I learned is to increase the creative power and the results will follow. Doing away without any self-inflicted pressure is the recipe for success. And the joy is total when I share it with my co-artistes in the multiple roles of producer, actor and director,” she signs off.