With her new production, Preeta Mathur Thakur has achieved a twin objective-arousing the curiosity of the audience about a historical character they may not know about, and paying tribute to a great female queen and warrior, Veera Rani Abbakka, who kept Portuguese colonizers away from her own kingdom and most of the west coast of southern India.
The story of India's freedom struggle usually focuses on the British, but centuries earlier, the Portuguese had attempted to rule over parts of India and had very limited success, confined as they were to Goa.
This is also the year, Ank, the group founded by the late Dinesh Thakur completes 50 years, and VEERA RANI ABBAKKA is an apt celebration of the milestone. Thakur had, in the past, done a grand production of Girish Karnad's TUGHLAQ, but historical dramas have not been the group's forte. Still, with the help of Mala Dey's resplendent costumes, Atul Tiwari's sets, Aman and Tanushree Gupta's work on the music and movement, and Shivari Shinde's light design, she has mounted an attractive production with a limited budget.
Keeping in mind that the queen, immortalized as Abhaya Rani by her people, who have kept tales of her valour alive through folk songs and Yakshagana performances, Mathur Thakur, who also plays the lead character, has two actors (Aman Gupta, Prakash Vaswani), in Yakshagana costume as sutradhars, who, with their impassioned narration, support the inspiring story of the queen.
The matrilineal tradition of the coastal community (in present-day Karnataka), allows her to inherit the throne of Ullala from her mother, Queen Hiriya Abbakka (Neeta Mohindra), who had also tried to keep the Portuguese invaders at bay but failed. Veera has been trained by her uncle, Tirumala Raya (Vivek Marwaha), so she is an adept fighter and astute ruler.
The Portuguese want to capture the lucrative sea trading routes of the region rich in spices, pepper and silk. They impose a toll on the merchant ships and restrict trade with other countries. They built forts and fortifications in nearby places, including the kingdom of the queen’s husband, King Lakshmappa of Mangalore (Mukul Nag/Manohar Joshi). He is the one who betrays her and causes her to lose a crucial battle.
Preeta Mathur Thakur has mentioned in her note, that she came across the story of Rani Abbakka in an Amar Chitra Katha comic, and built on it, with Richa Sharad helping her to flesh out the scenes and writing the dialogue. So the story is simplified, so that audiences can get a potted history of the period and appreciate the guerilla war tactics of the Queen, who stood up to the superior fire power of the Portuguese.
If the Queen, her courtiers and soldiers come across as noble and as close to the milieu as possible, the Portuguese characters-with the exception of Vikrant Chaturvedi as Admiral Dom Silveria-are crude caricatures, a fault that future shows ought to correct.
Preeta Mathur Thakur, plays Rani Abbakka with sincerity and passion, surrounded by an enthusiastic (sometimes over-the-top) ensemble that goes all out to convey the glory and greatness of a warrior, who has not been given her due in history.
Deepa Gahlot is a journalist, columnist, author and curator. Some of her writings are on deepagahlot.com
