Direction : Atul Satya Koushik Cast : Puneet Issar
ISHWAR Review
Playwright-director-producer Atul Satya Koushik has a repertoire that includes modern comedies as well as mythologicals-his productions, DAD'S GIRLFRIEND and ISHWAR are both running in the city at the same time.
Noting the renewed interest in the epics these days, with ISHWAR, he revisits the style and message of his earlier play, RAVAN KI RAMAYAN, with Puneet Issar again playing the King of Lanka, whose kidnapping of Sita led to a battle with Lord Ram, the annihilation of his clan and the destruction of his prosperous island kingdom.
Koushik argues, in the earlier production and the new one, that Ravan was not an ordinary villain. He was a great warrior, but also a scholar, musician, and benevolent ruler, who wanted his kingdom and his people to progress. He was angry about the injustices suffered by the Asuras, at the hands of the Devas and wanted to redress the balance.
Ravan (Issar) is a devotee of Lord Shiva (Amit Pachori) and is certain that the boons granted to him, makes him invincible. The tragedy of his sister Shoorpanakha (Neha Kaul), mutilated by Lakshman for her advances towards Lord Ram (Himanshu Soni), led to the abduction of Sita and her incarceration in Ashok Vatika in Lanka.
Koushik is aware that most Indian audiences know the story of the Ramayan, so instead of a ticking off the famous episodes on a list, he has written scenes of Ravan's interactions with various key characters in the epic-Lord Shiva, his sons (Meghnad, Atikaya), Shoorpanakha, his wife Mandodari (Ridhiema Tiwar), Meghnad's grieving wife Sulochana (in a costume that would fit in a dance reality show!) and, of course, in the end Lord Ram.
The strength of Ishwar is in its powerful writing -- in verse-- however, to appeal to a mass audience, Koushik places his effective and dignified words in a garish production with the overuse of LED lights, tawdry sets, kitschy, TV-inspired costumes, video projection, large puppets-- giving the show more of a fairground look. Imagine a gigantic Nandi in the scene with Shiva, nodding along in the background.
Puneet Issar expectedly dominates the stage with his striking presence and clear voice. It is difficult for today's actors (probably untrained for the stage) to deliver their lines in the required declamatory style; some of them speak like they were in a contemporary soap opera. Even so, Shoorpanakha's confrontation with the men in her family, and her lament about the condition of women, received encouraging applause. The characters are portrayed as respectful towards women, and the women are admirably articulate in expressing their emotions.
Koushik has obviously targeted this production at audiences that come to the theatre for the spectacle and booming dialogue, also, possibly, the casting of familiar faces. It would be interesting to see if a toned down production, giving the words and language the value they deserve would work equally well.
(Deepa Gahlot is a journalist, columnist, author and curator. Some of her writings are on deepagahlot.com)
