Ten days, ten stories come alive on stage

A ten-day Summer Drama Fest is underway at Krishna Gana Sabha
Still from Kiladi Maaple
Still from Kiladi Maaple
Updated on
2 min read

In a city where sabhas are synonymous with iyal (literature), isai (music) and nadagam (drama), Krishna Gana Sabha keeps the tradition of theatre alive every year with its Summer Drama Fest. For ten days, the sabha’s stage becomes a canvas for laughter, nostalgia, and hard truths. As the 2025 edition unveiled on June 26, the stage once again became the meeting ground for veteran drama troupes sharpening their skills to meet the new-age audience.

“The drama fest was initially started in 1960. It’s been over sixty years. It was my father (R Yagnaraman) who was the pioneer of Krishna Gana Sabha and this drama fest as well,” says Y Prabhu, general secretary of Krishna Gana Sabha. “The intent was to provide a platform for Tamil theatre artistes to exhibit their talents.”

Various well-known veteran drama troupes including, actor Sivaji Ganesan troupe, actor Nagesh troupe, actress Manorama troupe, actor Mouli troupe among others have been part of this drama fest in the 90s. Notably, keeping up the legacy of late actor-comedian Crazy Mohan, his troupe, Crazy Creations have been performing continuously at the fest.

This year, most of the dramas are planned to adhere to the genre of comedy. “There are already many negative things happening in the world. We want the audience to forget everything and immerse themselves in the world of drama, at least for a few hours,” Prabhu says. However, he adds that the audiences can expect a mix of genres like social commentary, family dynamics and many more along with satire.

Kiladi Maaple, a full-length satire written by Ezhichandur Aravandan and directed and performed by Mapilai Ganesan and his troupe Sathya Sai Creations, inaugurated the fest. The play revolved around a man juggling two secret marriages and the chaos that awaits when his double life collides at a wedding hall.

Ganesan, who has been acting for over four decades and performed in more than 4,000 shows across India, reflects on the genre choice, “Whether it is a serial or a movie, people cry. Now, there is less comedy. So, since it is based on comedy, we have a set of audience…But it is a big challenge to bring youngsters to the drama.”

Concurring, Prabhu adds that they have been active on social media to reach wider audience. “We are posting every day about details of each drama. In this thirty-second reel world, it is difficult to keep up with trend but we are doing our best to keep youngsters engaged with theatre,” he says.

On July 6, the curtains will drop for the year with a valedictory ceremony where two awards — ‘Nataka Choodamani’ and ‘Iyakunar Sigaram K Balachander Award of Excellence in Theatre’ — will be presented to recognise the contribution of two people who excelled in theatre throughout the year. This year, the award is being presented to TV Varadharajen and Lavanya Venugopal, respectively. SP Muthuraman, director of Rajinikanth’s Nallavanukku Nallavan, will confer the awards. Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti, president of Krishna Gana Sabha, will also preside over the function.

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