CHENNAI: Apart from dutiful readers, most veteran journalists in the city may still shudderingly recall the sleazy columns by CN Lakshmikanthan in the tabloids Cinema Thoodhu and Indu Nesan. In the Madras Presidency of the 1940s, Lakshmikanthan would persistently pry into and pen down the private lives of superstars.
In a twist, Lakshmikanthan makes headlines in 1944. The isolated stretch on the General Collins Road in Purasawalkam still whispers tales of the journalist being stabbed by two assailants in the abdomen while riding in a hand-pulled rickshaw. Lakshmikanthan leaves behind a legacy of yellow journalism and a sticky whodunnit web for the Madras High Court and police officers to disentangle. But the murder mystery remains untangled, decades later.
“This is one of the greatest, most sensational, and complex trials of Madras from 1944 to 1946. It was a botched trial in the sense that there were a lot of hostile witnesses,” explains S Ram, actor and member of The Madras Players. In hopes of adapting the journalist’s story into a docudrama, a 42-member cast — one of the highest numbers for The Madras Players — will transform the stage into a charged-up courtroom. The jury, and the audience, will encounter the case’s eight main suspects including musician MK Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and “Charlie Chaplin of Tamil cinema” NS Krishnan.
Actor and director PC Ramakrishna, who has been on stage for over 52 years, carefully penned down this 1 hour and 55 minute-long play over three years during the pandemic. “The case is based on the original transcripts, given by the Madras High Court. The director read the papers and files, wrote a script, and then sent it to the HC. There was a particular advocate, who was liaisoning with him on behalf of the court, who suggested some minor changes,” details Ram.
While the play premiered on November 26, 2022, on ‘Lawyer’s Day’, this is the first time it is being showcased to the public. The troupe will be knitting in audio-visual elements and bringing to the stage stories of Madras, usually skimmed over in the English drama circuit.
Keeping in mind the countless witnesses, Ram says that the play works a way around breaking down the case for the spectators. Another challenge was hunting for the hand-pulled rickshaw in parts of old Chennai like Central and Royapuram.
Eventually, Ram admits, it had to be fashioned from other parts. “Not many (youngsters) would have heard about the case. It can be difficult for them to relate so the first 40 minutes of the play will build up the case and tempo. The audience can also get a flavour of Laskshmikantan and how ruthless he was.”As the case remains unsolved, perhaps members of the audience or sharp Cluedo fans may find a hint and just crack it.
GEAR UP!
Key characters include D Ramachandran starring as Lakshmikanthan, Shantharam as prosecution lawyer, AL Rajah as defense lawyer and S Ram as the present-day lawyer. Watch the play in Narada Gana Sabha on TTK Road on March 19 at 7 pm.
Tickets are
available at https://www.mdnd.in/event/view/4363