KETTAKATHA is the story of a playwright who wants to write an original story, without wanting to bind his story to any rules. He wants the story to be free from any impositions of structure or pre-defined thought. Thus, the playwright begins with nothing concrete in mind; and with no beginning, middle or end that would define his play. The play as such unfolds as the playwright's abstract and unstructured response to his medley of thoughts from which spring a collage of four unrelated stories.
'Kettakatha', literally means the creative process of writing a play. In a conversation with his friend, the playwright discusses several existential issues that face man - such as the purpose of his life, what does he feel about himself, what are his aims, his past, etc. From these questions, emerges the playwright's script. These questions are represented in the form of stories.
The first story is of a poor man who has invested all his savings in building a make-shift home, somewhere on the streets of Mumbai. He aspires to be an actor and dreams to build a real home for his family one day. However, his house is washed away by the 2007 floods in Mumbai, and that also signifies an end to his dreams.
Next follows the story of a woman who is trying to cope with the reality of staying away from her husband. The husband works in another town and the couple haven't met for over two years. The woman begins to lose hope and her dreams are beginning to fade away as the wait seems to get longer than expected. She struggles to come to terms with her loneliness and unsatisfied sexual desires.
Then there is the story of a Muslim couple who are expecting a baby. However, the wife's brother gets severely injured in a fight at his workplace over religious matters. Thus, the wife begins to doubt if this is a good time for her child to be born. She begins to question the role of religion and its implications.
The final story is of a call centre- employee who is struggling to make a career. He questions the idea of 'making a career' and how it came to be instilled in his mind since childhood.
The play weaves these four sub-plots with the playwright's own quest and creative process. Writer Abhiram Joshi raises some important questions and the play is well-written. The story gradually reveals itself as the main plot unfolds at its own pace. The play progresses steadily towards the climax where all the stories converge. This moment though, could have been handled more tactfully. The theatrical device used to convey the end is a bit overdone and a more innovative idea, simple and minimal might have enhanced the moment.
The performances are commendable. After having won the Best Actor award at Thespo 13, last year, Siddesh Purkar delivers another outstanding performance. He exhibits his wide-range and talent as he plays multiple roles through the play. All the actors do a good job of holding the play together. Siddharth Mahashabde as the call centre-employee and Kshitish Date as the playwright's friend deserve a special mention. The play is well-directed in most parts by Suraj Parasnis and Shivraj Waichal. The set transitions are often a part of the play and the elaborate set is very well managed by the production team. The sound design is good, complementing the scenes' ambience but the music selection for the climax, which is used to connect all the stories, is a let-down. Produced by the Pune-based Theatreon, KETTAKATHA has a promising script, good performances and displays unbridled enthusiasm, which ensures that the team will get better with each show.
*Sudeep Modak is a theatre actor and director with interests in other media. He has worked with Ramu Ramanathan, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Sai Paranjpe and has done production work for THE PROPHET by Naseeruddin Shah's theatre group Motley, amongst other things.
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