KOCHI: Chandra Dasan’s love for theatre began over forty years ago when he was in his second year in college. “I was someone who wanted formal training in theatre and the art of acting but the times and circumstances weren’t right.
So I read, researched and learned extensively to be where I am today and teach what I teach now,” he says. All of his plays in college were conceptualised, directed and produced by the students themselves. This freedom and initial exposure began a lifelong tryst with the stage. Although his interest in theatre began with acting, he soon moved onto directing and its nuances.
In 1991 he formed a theatre group called, Bhasabheri Natakashala in Tripunithara. Six years later he, formed another group- Lokadharmi, which continues to produce plays to this day. Though a theatre connoisseur, Chandra Dasan taught Chemistry in St Albert’s College until 2014, perhaps to meet his expenses for his true love.
In 2014, he decided that his theatre group needed an address. Problems with the storage of props and set designs and the lack of a proper rehearsal space ultimately led him to his decision to quit his job and sell his house to construct Lokadharmi and devote the rest of his life to it. Although Lokadharmi is funded solely by Chandra Dasan, he has relinquished ownership of it. The building is a not-for-profit organisation that will belong to the members of the theatre group.
Lokadharmi is the only building in Kochi that is solely dedicated to drama and the nuances of acting and directing. Fine Arts Society is the only other place in Kochi that houses drama performances and rehearsals. Chandra Dasan was fueled by this lack of a proper venue for theatre. The building houses rehearsal spaces, a performance library, accommodation facilities and a cafeteria for the artistes.
A house for theatre
Phase 1 of the Lokadharmi building spans 3,000 square feet and cost over Rs 1.25 crore to construct it. It is located in Nayyar Ambalam Panchayat in Vypin, Ernakulum. The building is constructed with careful environmental consciousness.
The doors, windows and tiles are all recycled, an 8,000 litre rain water harvesting tank reduces their dependence on the public water supply system to almost zero. The building is conceptualised collectively by Chandra Dasan and the architects- Ved Sekan, Padma Kumar and Devapriyan.
His approach to theatre is actor-centric. “I believe in the spoken language of the actor. When my actor is a Malayalee he will act in a Malayalam play. Even when I went to Lithuania and Finland, my actors spoke in their own languages even if I didn’t necessarily understand them,” he explains.
Chandra Dasan very strongly believes in training. All his actors go through an intensive theatre training programme before rehearsals begin. He hopes to initiate a full time intensive course in acting in three months. “I visualise a centre where training, research and performance go together,” he says.
Over 2,000 people have passed through Chandra Dasan’s theatre group which includes names such as Vinay Fortt, Roshan Andrews and Manikandan. They primarily produce Malayalam plays which includes translations of Shakespeare and other playwrights all around the world and from India. Recently the group put up a production of Sajitha Madathil’s, Kalinatakam.
In the future, Chandra Dasan hopes to begin construction of phase 2 of Lokadharmi which will include a performance theatre that will seat over 500 people. Phase 2 will also house classes in singing, yoga, dance and martial arts. “An actor should possess all kinds of skills, be it, singing or dancing or athletics. You never know what a role demands from an actor,” Chandra Dasan says.