This Sunday ( 7 July 19) Anita Rathnam premiered her production Naachiyar Next in Chennai at RR Sabha, Mylapore. I had gone to the event looking forward to see something different from Anita. For one, the life of Aandal offers so much to explore and extrapolate and Anita , through her long association with the subject and liberal thinking, was quite capable of challenging conventions and present Aandal in a new light and explore the perspectives that Aandal's life offered itself to. All this promise was also temptingly held out by the word 'Next' in the title, or so had some of us sadly imagined. The 'Next' only seemed to signify that, Anita has found someone new to play the role of Aandal.
Unfortunately, what one gets instead is an uninspiring, faithful retelling of the Aandal story, very wary of and catering to the popular sentiments and traditions. The production's main objective seemed to be to stoke congregational ecstasy among the faithfuls in the audience. This is the kind of show Bombay Gnanam and the likes do. Their prime motive being to narrate the subject's life and present the key moments in the life of the subject in all its glory so as to stimulate a sharp rise in the religious ecstasy in the audience. The ultimate goal being to get the audience to join the action during fervent chantings, and get them to rise up on their feet and feel sacred about the show when the Subject is unveiled in all its Bountiful Darshan. The allignment of Anita's show seemed to be no different, and to her credit, the show earned a standing applause from the reverent Audience.
While the overall feeling was that of a lovely opportunity put to waste, there were some positives and beautiful moments to cherish in the show.
One could sense the making of a promising and a lovely sequence taking shape as the tempo gradually builds up as Kodhai is set to wear the garland for the first time. The execution of this sequence, that culminates with Kodhai in an blissful state of union makes intelligent use of the mirrors to give a multiplying effect, pointing to an infinite bliss, stands out as one of the most beautiful sequences in the show.
The actor playing Vishnuchittar brought alive the Pillaithtamil songs of Periazhwar. His gentle voice and tenor made the 'maanikkam's and 'mani vairam's so much more special and resplendent. However, The actor's fatherly admonishing of Kothai at various instances, doesn't quite sit well with the motherly nature of the man reflected in those Pillaith tamizh songs.
The fact that Vishnuchittar could so very convincingly position himself as a tender mother in those Pillaith thamizh songs made me wonder if the imagery of Aandal and the songs alluded to her were also works of Vishnuchittar positioning himself as the playful Paavai in Thiruppavai and the pining nangai in Nachiyaar thirumozhi. It is probably alluding to this transforming ability of his that he was given the name Chittan, the sorcerer. This is one of the many such digressions that the story of Aandal lends itself to.
A point of digression that Anitha has taken heart to mention in the passing is how Aandal could have been referring to a shared fate with Krishna in being born in one house and growing up in another, 'oruthi maganaai piranthu..' A line of thought that's so inviting and refreshing but sadly left to waste in the passing.
Madhusudhanan as the Araiyar is a darling of the performance. Anitha has beautifully designed sequences in a way as to incorporate and fit in Araiyar performance in all its vitality and yet gel with the show. She has made perfect use Madhusudhanan's ability to perform the araiyar ritual in its complete earnestness. The reverberating tone of the recital of the Araiyar performance lends a magical touch of ingenuity to the production. As the show is bound to travel, it is heartening to note that a piece of our performing heritage is going to travel across the world. This is an absolutely brilliant way of taking aspects of our Heritage to a wider audience. Anita's ingenuity in conceiving this idea is a fabulous one and very laudable.
To cut a little slack in the performance, Madhu's entry in the stage as a possessed passerby, as a pooja performing person etc. takes a little sheen off the brilliance of his featuring on the stage. His appearances could be restricted to the Araiyar portions only. He should not be wasted as an extra on the stage. This could help add more brilliance to the Araiyar performance.
Anitha was tall and splendid in keeping the show together and in Chaperoning Aandal through her pangs of love for Krishna. In her flowing and resplendent costume she could have been a dervish, but in the sequence where she sits down to hear from the sooth sayer, she could have very much been in a madisaar. Even though it made a picture perfect scene to have Anita in it, I felt It would have made better sense for the mother in Vishnuchittar to seek the advice of the soothsayer.
Madhu as the Araiyar playing the sooth sayer again offered plenty of scope for exploration. It could have been the scheming Krishna himself who was plotting to win Kodhai over from the holds of Vishnuchittan, offering him advice to give her over to Ranga.
If Kodhai could become Aandal, why not the Aaraiyar become Ranga. Madhusudhanan with his dark complexion and piercing charm could easily overwhelm the audience as the all conquering Krishna. Such a line of exploration again offers many different interesting dimensions to the story.
A lot of thought has gone into bringing in the beautifully crafted Parrot from Villiputhur, the ritual of bathing of Aandal and the Decking up of Kodhai as Aandal, and also bringing aspects of Kolattam into performing for Thiruppavai, etc. The 'Vaaranam aayiram' song is one song with fabulous lyrics, and begs for a little more infusion of fantasy elements in performing it.
Portraying Aandal as an ever pining and possessed girl, is a very narrow way of looking at her. The story of Aandal offers so much more to explore and engage with. We will have to probably wait for Anitha 'Next' to do justice.
Unfortunately, what one gets instead is an uninspiring, faithful retelling of the Aandal story, very wary of and catering to the popular sentiments and traditions. The production's main objective seemed to be to stoke congregational ecstasy among the faithfuls in the audience. This is the kind of show Bombay Gnanam and the likes do. Their prime motive being to narrate the subject's life and present the key moments in the life of the subject in all its glory so as to stimulate a sharp rise in the religious ecstasy in the audience. The ultimate goal being to get the audience to join the action during fervent chantings, and get them to rise up on their feet and feel sacred about the show when the Subject is unveiled in all its Bountiful Darshan. The allignment of Anita's show seemed to be no different, and to her credit, the show earned a standing applause from the reverent Audience.
While the overall feeling was that of a lovely opportunity put to waste, there were some positives and beautiful moments to cherish in the show.
One could sense the making of a promising and a lovely sequence taking shape as the tempo gradually builds up as Kodhai is set to wear the garland for the first time. The execution of this sequence, that culminates with Kodhai in an blissful state of union makes intelligent use of the mirrors to give a multiplying effect, pointing to an infinite bliss, stands out as one of the most beautiful sequences in the show.
The actor playing Vishnuchittar brought alive the Pillaithtamil songs of Periazhwar. His gentle voice and tenor made the 'maanikkam's and 'mani vairam's so much more special and resplendent. However, The actor's fatherly admonishing of Kothai at various instances, doesn't quite sit well with the motherly nature of the man reflected in those Pillaith tamizh songs.
The fact that Vishnuchittar could so very convincingly position himself as a tender mother in those Pillaith thamizh songs made me wonder if the imagery of Aandal and the songs alluded to her were also works of Vishnuchittar positioning himself as the playful Paavai in Thiruppavai and the pining nangai in Nachiyaar thirumozhi. It is probably alluding to this transforming ability of his that he was given the name Chittan, the sorcerer. This is one of the many such digressions that the story of Aandal lends itself to.
A point of digression that Anitha has taken heart to mention in the passing is how Aandal could have been referring to a shared fate with Krishna in being born in one house and growing up in another, 'oruthi maganaai piranthu..' A line of thought that's so inviting and refreshing but sadly left to waste in the passing.
Madhusudhanan as the Araiyar is a darling of the performance. Anitha has beautifully designed sequences in a way as to incorporate and fit in Araiyar performance in all its vitality and yet gel with the show. She has made perfect use Madhusudhanan's ability to perform the araiyar ritual in its complete earnestness. The reverberating tone of the recital of the Araiyar performance lends a magical touch of ingenuity to the production. As the show is bound to travel, it is heartening to note that a piece of our performing heritage is going to travel across the world. This is an absolutely brilliant way of taking aspects of our Heritage to a wider audience. Anita's ingenuity in conceiving this idea is a fabulous one and very laudable.
To cut a little slack in the performance, Madhu's entry in the stage as a possessed passerby, as a pooja performing person etc. takes a little sheen off the brilliance of his featuring on the stage. His appearances could be restricted to the Araiyar portions only. He should not be wasted as an extra on the stage. This could help add more brilliance to the Araiyar performance.
Anitha was tall and splendid in keeping the show together and in Chaperoning Aandal through her pangs of love for Krishna. In her flowing and resplendent costume she could have been a dervish, but in the sequence where she sits down to hear from the sooth sayer, she could have very much been in a madisaar. Even though it made a picture perfect scene to have Anita in it, I felt It would have made better sense for the mother in Vishnuchittar to seek the advice of the soothsayer.
Madhu as the Araiyar playing the sooth sayer again offered plenty of scope for exploration. It could have been the scheming Krishna himself who was plotting to win Kodhai over from the holds of Vishnuchittan, offering him advice to give her over to Ranga.
If Kodhai could become Aandal, why not the Aaraiyar become Ranga. Madhusudhanan with his dark complexion and piercing charm could easily overwhelm the audience as the all conquering Krishna. Such a line of exploration again offers many different interesting dimensions to the story.
A lot of thought has gone into bringing in the beautifully crafted Parrot from Villiputhur, the ritual of bathing of Aandal and the Decking up of Kodhai as Aandal, and also bringing aspects of Kolattam into performing for Thiruppavai, etc. The 'Vaaranam aayiram' song is one song with fabulous lyrics, and begs for a little more infusion of fantasy elements in performing it.
Portraying Aandal as an ever pining and possessed girl, is a very narrow way of looking at her. The story of Aandal offers so much more to explore and engage with. We will have to probably wait for Anitha 'Next' to do justice.
