Review of ThRee Second Drama Production- "Kaatchi Pizhaigalo" on 28 April 2024 - One Word -"Brilliant" - One Suggestion-"Don't Miss It"

The last Sunday of April 2024,  amidst the scorching heat of the summer,  there was a wave of emotions,  a fall of rainfall like drops of happy tears for the theatre lovers of Chennai.    Despite my husband wanting it to give it a miss, due the IPL CSK match, I forced him saying that this will be worth watching than an IPL match, and he can always watch the match later.   Thank God,  the entire evening was worth the wait.   The house was full at Narada Gana Saba.  Kodai Nataka Vizha never disappoints and the play from none other than V.Sreevothsan and that too with star artists like M.V. Bhaskar and Lavanya Venugopal and team is a must watch for theatre enthusiast.

My curiosity grew high seeing the poster where Bhaskar walks with the stick behind Lavanya,  and I initially thought that he is going to play the role of a visually challenged person.   But trust me, Lavanya just killed the role with perfection.    It is not easy to act like a blind artist in a stage,  movies can have retakes, but on stage, it is the MOMENT.    Lavanya kept the innocent smile on the face throughout the drama,  the eyes depicting real visually challenged,  not a moment asking for sympathy of the audience, but the entire family and fraternity of doctors and lawyers in the play take you to their world for the next 1.5 hours. 

Introduction of the amazing CAST and CREW of this play 

Lavanya Venugopal & M.V.Bhaskar humbly present their second production " KAATCHI PIZHAIGALO "

On stage in order of appearance 

Bhaskar - Dr Shankar Ram,  

Srikrishnan - Mohan, 

Lavanya Venugopal - Manaswini, 

Lalitha Narasimhan - Tejaswini

Raksha - Akshaya , 

Ramesh - Dr. KAILASAM, 

Pothilingam  - Sathappan, 

Arjun,Prabhu,Madhukar Keshavan ( Research assistants)

Lights : Babu assisted by Yogesh 

Set Company : Saidai Kumar  Set Execution Shanmugam

Back stage management Arjun, Prabhu  and Madhukar

Poster support Disney and Monisha

Song sung by R Gayathri and Dakshin

Lyrics : Naachiyar Thirumozhi

Music : Dakshin

Written & directed by : V.Sreevathson based on the concept given by Badri Venkatesh

The PLOT

The story begin with Dr Shankar Ram and his lawyer friend Mohan talking about the casual routine of Mohan and the habits he is addicted to.  Beside the portrayal of the character differently, during the course of the play,  Mohan also makes his presence felt though his legal angel to the story and standing by his friend.    Lavanya enters as a blind wife Manasvini of Dr Shankar Ram, a character that takes you to her world with ease, depicting the intellectual brilliance of the differently challenged, the power of their other senses,  the way they can lead a near normal life without the sympathy of others.   

Couple of soul-stirring and politically correct Vs incorrect thought process were highlights.  

The introduction of  Akshya, daughter of Dr Shankar and Manasvini is beautiful.  Her love story with the son of a DK politically influenced man Sathappan brings in a beautiful connect between ideologies, two different people in faith, trust and belief systems,  the contrasting conditioning, traditions, rituals and beliefs.   The man in black, is white in heart, and  you will see during the course of the play when he chants pasurams with ease, calling everyone respectfully and the dialogues between a religious father vs an atheist non-believer is amazing.   

The story has a very ethically deepened situation, where an Ophthalmologist who spent close to 2 decades in research to come with the invention that would show sight to the visually challenged wife from birth and his emotional bonding with his wife, who otherwise is healthy and happy except that fact that she could not see.   There is resistance from rest of the family, risk that is unknown and questionability from the medical and legal fraternity on the need for such risky experimentation on human beings and that too on his own family member.    Dr saying that the "Longest wait is for the biggest Satisfaction'' throws a lot of light on the fact that good things come for those who know to wait.

The Project Thesis naming after Kannappa Nayyanar was thoughtful... the first donor of eyes to Lord Shiva and this donation is for the longer vision....larger than what a normal human mind can imagine.   

When asked what all she want to see once she gets eye sight and that too for a half hour,  a mother shows her emotion that she wants to see her daughter's wedding.... her parents photo and her wedding photo, Dr Badrinath photo, her sister Teju's wedding photo and Thailavar.  

When Dr asks her why she did ask to see Lord Shiva,, she says it is an emotion..he is everywhere and formless and seeing Sivan is possible only through Realization..   Brilliant dialogues and then the way she says she wants to see "Thalaivar" and Basha movie interval scene, the audience roared in laughter and happiness

Few dialogues like intellect is beyond colour, creed and vision, and that God is supreme,  and culture and traditions  are way of life and love is blind hit you deep.  

When Dr asks her what she wants to see when she gets eye sight, does she want to see him,  his family, etc etc,  Manasvini tells that she will decide on what all she wants to see, and Dr can decide on how to make her see!  a very beautiful way of giving a consent to her soul-mate and life -partner.

Tejashvini and Manasvini bond is portrayed so beautiful, that sisterhood is a bond beyond sympathy, situation and beyond the situational, ethical, legal and medical grounds, it is filled with care, concern and genuine love.   Both Lalitha and Lavanya nailed it with ease living their characters.  The way Manasvini convinces her sister that risk is everywhere, even in the car she drives, so why not accept that in research, shows the bond, the depth without hurting anyone in the process and way of making her understand her stance.  The courage Manasvini gets from her sister,  right from childhood, portrays a beautiful relationship.  

When Dr mentions that he is not ok to get his daughter marry a boy from an atheist family and says that they are not equal,  Manasvini asks what is bothering, whether economical or social equality.   He replies "in principles' they are different.  But the same Dr, understands that the relationships are beyond any grounds of differentiators, when love, and even the so called non-believers have trust in the existence of Supreme and they are only non-believing because they believe in such existence.   As a writer, I am struggling to write this beautiful dialogues, but when you see it on the stage, you will be mesmerised with the way, both the fathers accept each other in end and stay for each other even before marriage.   Love and care, ideologies and beliefs very beautifully portrayed.   

Few dialogues, on the saying of no to Hindi,  the love for black, both the clothes and the coffee,  and emphasis on the fact that situation is the king for every selection, including elections.....the audience applauded the dialogues and flawless perfection.   Situation is God.

Coming to the final 2 scenes, there is hope, there is fear, there is love, there is ethical concerns,  there is an ardent search for HIS hands in the long lasted research and Ramesh Sir as Dr Kailasam equally stole the show here.   

Raksha as Akshya, was a strong representation of the youth today.  She did her role perfectly well.   Even the research assistants quietly did their part perfectly well.  Pothilingam sir as Sathappan and Raksha as Akshya equally captured the audience hearts.   Srikrishnan as Mohan and Lalitha as Tejaswini, will also be remembered as the wonderful supporting cast

Sets, music, lights, make-up, costumes and back stage management, props, all went with the flow of the drama so beautifully making this a drama to stay for long.   Best of the season so far and a real treat to the theatre audience.  Gayathri and Dakshin did their best to the songs and music.  and how can we even review an growing Everest in the Tamil Theatre World V.Sreevathson sir.     Sreevathson is a blessing to Tamil Stage.  

I am sure, this drama deserves lot of awards and recognitions.  Best of the recognition will be the number of times, this play will be staged.  And best is that there is no hatred, no hurtful dialogues,  no sympathy tears,  and with light political satire, perfect timing of dialogues, the voice modulations, the flawless acting and expressions, create an emotional bonding with the play

Few things that they can take care of ,  is the volume of the sound system that can be bit more, as it was not audible in few places.    The 2 sets that switch between the play can be improvised with lighting.   Also the concept that she will have vision after the injection only for 30 minutes was not clear to the audience.  But these are small things when compared to the great message the play provides. 

Long live Tamil Theatre

Long live thRee Creations

Long live artists like M V Baskar and Lavanya Venugopal

Long live script writers and directors like Sreevathson.  

Final words:

If you are a drama lover, and tamil theatre enthusiast, don't miss this play.   A wholesome, engaging and heart fulfilling drama.     

The dialogues on politics, atheism,  family values, ideologies and society interlinking and ethical research will be remembered for long.  Every actor of this play did with perfection and sure to grab the judges attention.   

Highlight was the love of the couple- the Dr and Manasvini, how gracefully they celebrate each other and their wishes and thoughts, complimenting each other throughout the play.

For this drama, I am sure the writer did a good amount of research,  and also adequate search of the characters to bring out the best.   Dialogue writing at its best!

Best is the climax,  like a Balachander or Manirathnam movie, leaving the climax to the viewer discretion.   Had it been a movie, it is just right place to stop for a sequel!

Dedicated this review post also to the great memory of Dr Badrinath and the amazing work that is getting done at Shankar Nethralaya.   

"Blind are not those who don't have sight,  but those who have no insight or real vision in life".

Congratulations team thRee Creations and "KAATCHI PIZHAIGALO"

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Few pictures from my gallery!

“ Paayum Oli” - New Drama from production house "thRee" n Chennai Theatre space that is here to stay and make its mark!!!

"All the worlds a stage, we are all players!!!"   Theatre is the lap of Goddess Saraswathi.  The medium is used to educate, create awareness,  bring in talents, spread knowledge and entertain and educate the masses.   

From times immemorial,  the medium of theatre and drama had influenced the thinking of the mankind.  They have injected quite a few deep rooted thoughts that can change the perspectives of various people.    Theatre became a strong force during our freedom struggle.   It was used to motivate, encourage and rage people towards the spirit of independence.   Such is the power of this medium

Of late, theatre has been overtaken by television and OTT platforms.  However,  the passion of the few is what is making this performing art form survive, thrive and succeed.   There are no retakes in Theatre, and the homework have to be perfect.   There is no repeat for dialogues..so the diction, dialogue and language, have to be in sync and as expected.   There is no time for heavy make up or new costumes,  theater artists have to change in fraction of seconds before the next scene.   

It is live audience and you can either get their blessings or brick bats if there are intolerable flaws.   It needs lot of planning, perfect execution,  capturing script, right actors,  acceptable language and above all, a powerful story to glue the audience to the seats.   

When you have all of the above said, to perfection for a full packed audience (who are ardent theater lovers and critics/enthusiasts ) in a big sabha like Naradha Gana Sabha -  You are doing something right!!!  Yes.  That is the exact feeling that I and rest of the audience around me had watching the new kid in the  block "  Paayum Oli"

First Production from "ThRee"  -  Paayum Oli presented by Lavanya and Bhaskar:

My good friend Lavanya Venugopal and M.V. Bhaskar's own Production House "ThRee" came up with their maiden production on 27 April 2023 as part of the Kodai Nataka Villa at NGS.      The audience were enthralled to watch on stage,  Bhaskar, Lavanya, Sukanya, Subbu,  Jayanthi, Paramesh, Naren and Arjun.   

The entire play set in 2 households, was brilliantly executed with the support of Lights by Babu and Yogesh.   Though there is one constant set,  Set Shanmugam has proved that less is more, with the perfect setting of the living rooms.    As the play move from one scene to the other, you see a flaw less execution with the amazing backstage support by Arjun, Thendral, Vicky and Madhukar.     There is one poster for the play.  A rather powerful one created Disney and Monisha.   The music by Daskhin and songs sung by R. Gayathri and Dakshin add to the captivating moments of the play.   The lyrics of Mahakavi Bharathy was put to the right and great use.  

The man behind this master-blaster is none other than V. Sreevathson who wrote and directed the script.    The end result can only be nothing but success.   For Sreevathson is the best craftsman and knows his art pretty well.   The dialogues are powerful just like the story.   He knows to extract the best out of every artist.  Especially if you have Lavanya, on stage, what less can you ask for.    She is a director's artist.   She does it with ease, poise and perfection.   You should watch this play without fail to believe what I say here!!!  You will not be disappointed for sure!!!

The Plot -  The Story -  The Message!

In a traditional "Ponnu Pakkara "  Scene - where the groom with his widowed mother visits the girl's house for match making.   Both the families discuss and the girl and boy meet.  However, there comes no spark and the bell does not ring between both of them.    And in a very amicable way, the families communicate that the boy is not interested and the girl's family moves on with the next match finding.     The father and daughter share a very transparent, open and cordial relationship where they share day to day things and also appreciate each other's feelings and emotions.     The widowed mother, however hesitates to be open to her son as the boy has his own emotions to deal with and cannot fathom the loneliness his mother is going through.    The dialogues of the grandmother, keeps the audience in splits and thinking.    She did her role fantastically well and the girl's uncle also does it with ease and elegance.

The artists literally lived in their roles.    Over a period,  girl's father (Shatruganram) and the boy's mother ends up in a phone friendship.   They spend time talking lot of things that interest them from food, lifestyles, belief systems,  flash memories of their spouses and eventually,  a very subtle and beautiful bond builds with them.    This actually creates a sense of anxiety in the boy who is unable to understand the need for a companion for his mother who lost her husband and struggling with loneliness.    He tries to justify asking what the society would think,  what is appropriate and so on.    However, on the girl side,  the father is open and acknowledged the fact that he is in friendship with the boy's mother and would like to take it to the next level.    The family is emphatical and understanding.  

On confrontation,  the mother opens up like a volcano of emotions -  she tries to empathize with her son's questions,  her self-doubts and the need for her companionship.   She pours out on bringing out the fact on her sacrifices and thinking of the society around her.  However,  humanity and self-love is what is above all the societal pressures and she expresses it very deeply and clearly and the boy feels so overwhelmed in not understanding his mother earlier.      Eventually, things get lighter and the bond becomes firm and stronger and the plot ends  with both the families uniting to celebrate her birthday.   There comes a light at the stroke of midnight and this light is there to stay and enlighten the masses!!!

Message:

Truly a heart-warming message.   I have seen the need for the companion when the spouse passes away in middle age and there is so much of life left for the other one.   Society sympathizes with them, define rules that do not belong to them,  create a cob-web around what is right and what is not and the sole victim is the person who lost their life- partner.   No matter what children or families do, there is still a strong emotional vacuum that is left unfulfilled in many people who struggle with loneliness.     

These kind of drama's with messages of social-reforms are needed even today.   It was some decades ago that social reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy advocated widow remarriages and brought in abolition of sati and created reforms for new lease of life for widows.   It is more worst when a man remains single after losing his wife.  The trouble is actually multiplied.   

This is when the society need to understand that we are no body to define the rules for others and let every one live the way that actually makes them happy and be at peace.  Especially children who are self-centered these days need consideration but at the same need not slay down the lives only for them.  It is ok to live what makes us happy.  It is ok to find love again.   It is ok to get into a relationship again.   It is actually ok to remarry if that is the need.  It is ok to find a companion and stay sane in life than struggle in depression and vacuum.      This drama definitely makes it clear and says it loud.    This is the kind of reformical thought provoking messages we need.    Paayum Oli proudly bring out this message to the masses and that is the beautiful reason why this drama is a hit and will be a running success!!!

Kudos to the entire cast and crew and my special thanks to Lavanya Venugopal for extending the invitation for me to watch and cherish this play.    Wishing the team great success on their future endeavors.    God bless!

Drama Review: Dummies Drama's Dharaniyin Perumai : A rasika's review, a lawyer's pride, a citizen's tribute to Crown Jewel of legal fraternity- Nani Palkhivala

We had the spectacular deep dive into the Indian History and a day to rejoice the life of the crown jewel of legal fraternity in India.   Sri Nanabhoy Palkhivala.   

He was brought live back on stage, into the court rooms and to the political arena of India that spoke volumes of the great son he was to India and as the safekeeper of Indian Constitution as a tribute on his Birth Centenary Year 2020.   I am sure Sri Nani is all smiles in the heaven, blessing his disciples, and enjoying his Dronacharya moments seeing the team of Dummies Dramas crew bringing his life to 1000s of audience who were blessed to witness the docu-drama

Jan 16- 19 2020 -the auspices of MFAC and full support of Sri. Varadarajan of MFAC, dummies Dramas presented the life of Palkhivala as a centenary celebrations tribute to the great son of India.

In words of Srivotsan, Drama is an experience.  This doc-drama runs close to 80% during the era where mobile phones were not even known.  He pays his grateful thanks to Ms. Shobana Ravi for lending her voice and team of Karthik, Ashwin, Ananya, Sowmya, Dakshi, Giridaran for providing the BGM.   The sets by Padma, Sejas Kanna and make up by Vijay and Perambur Kumar.   

Srivotsan shares his experience of going to Madras University to listen to Nani on his budget analysis in a scooter with his father, was fascinated by the illustrated weekly articles that used to come in Times of India with RK Lakshman Cartoons.   This play is a fan boy moment and tribute.  He calls it is Gurudakshinai to Nani Palkhivala and take inputs from several books of Kamath, Solim Sareja, Dharmendra and many others for his research.   He explains that the team tried their level best to bring in the court room scenes and thanks to the marketing of Kavasam Connect.   50 awesome actors on stage individually and collectively they are known as Dummies Drama’s perumai

Now starts the summary of the great docu-drama we witness in the recent times.  

The Parsi family from where Nani hails are Palanquin creators who believe in perfection and quality.  Nani’s father stands as an inspiration in telling to do it to get things registered in mind than telling it and standing as an example.   He mentions that the great treasures are found after deep researches only.  

Nani as a child struggles with stammering issue and he takes it as personal challenge and participate in the debate competition.    His father inculcates the habit of sharing what ever he has.  He calls it humanity to share things and books become his biggest treasures.  The bookstore owner becomes his destination to lend books for Nani to read as much as he can and that helps him gain abundant knowledge

Prasanna as the Young English Professor and adult Nani makes his mark on the stage.  He calls being independent as the real freedom.   He calls for Building India and give back for generations to come. 

He writes a letter to the Best Swadeshi who was a parsi – Sri JRD Tata and plans to publish/ send the article to Tata, inspired by the letters that Nehru used to write to Indira Gandhi from the prison.   He goes on to tell that there are 2 types of speeches – one to give knowledge and other as if others don’t have that knowledge.   At this stage, referencing to Shakespeare, Nani is called as India’s unshakeablesphere for his wonderful ideology coupled with literature. 

There is a reason behind every strong experience and as he moves on from being an English professor to pursue law, he undergoes a writer’s cramp before the exams.   God’s design is unpredictable.  That’s when Nargis comes into his life as a writing assistant for his entrance exam and makes an entry to his life as his wife.   Love on law takes him to the love of his life.

That was the era of Jamshedji Baramji Kanga who sets example in law.  Iron goes towards magnet and the whole of India was going behind the Iron Man of India Sri Sardar Patel.   Nani makes all attempts to get into Kangaji’s law firm and learns that the 360 degrees of case through understanding is required.   Right interpretation matters. 

Those were the times that the Democratic India was going through rapid changes.   Democracy is said to have 2 oppositions – one inside the Parliament and other of intellectuals who criticizes what governments does which actually helps progress. 

Nani participates in the Income Tax commentary and brings out his book ‘Law and Practices of Income Tax’.   No man under the sun is right.  At this stage Sri. N.H. Bhagvathi comments that a ‘New Lawyer is Born’ referring to Nani

Nani always insists that the law should win, and not the lawyers.   Chennai based Sri Sampath Iyengar files a case on the book written by Nani and issues a legal notice on the IT commentary on Nani, Kanga, and the publishers.  Finally, with his detailed facts and figures, Nani does a brilliant argument and wonderful presentation and makes Sampath Iyengar emotional and lose the battle

Nani goes with his ‘Forum of Free Enterprise’- a lecture in 1958.  He comes up with wonderful statistics, proves as a great economist and insists that Democracy is indeed a boon and knowledge is power, and it is the combination of democracy and knowledge that the Nation can reach to greater heights.  Nani proclaims that we India are not Underdeveloped Country but ruled by the underdeveloped minds

At this stage, Nani meets JRD Tata after 45 years after the first letter that he wrote and kept it with confidence as his brother said, that one day he will meet the great man.  With this Nani, meets Mohana Kumaramangalam and expresses his understanding Constitution and later started TCS with Nani’s idea.   He gets to meet Smt. Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India as an expert in Indian Constitution

Nani advocates capitalistic way of economy.  And many times, ends up in logger heads with Indira Gandhi.   Indira government appoints Nani as Attorney General of India which he refuses to accept after deep introspection.  His respect to his profession and knowledge revered by the entire legal fraternity.

He keeps telling his wife, that when ever sleeps disturbs, there is a great reason for mistakes.   He proudly declares that you don’t need to be born Hindu, to be a Hindu.   The great epic case Rann of Kutch Vs Pakistan brings him closer to Indira Gandhi.   He politely declines Rajaji’s offer to join the party saying that he cannot do political justice as he cannot be Justified Political!

The landmark judgement of Goraknath Case on Land Reforms act where his counterpart was Mr. Pai and the 11^-bench jury is argued, and Nani calls for sudo-socialism and insists that socialism should be for passing money from rich to poor.   He goes on for prospective overruling so that the judgement effects the cases going forward. 

He roars that Government is subordinate to Constitution.  Just because you are elected, you cannot select laws that favour you.    Nationalization of Banks by Indira Gandhi Government was strongly condemned by Nani and he made his brother Behram move the petition against the government when one individual whose share holding got effected and none of the banks came forward to fight against this government move.  

Nani emphasised that Government should govern and not to do business against the power-driven policies and should not forget people welfare and Constitution.   Power should not be misused.  Freedom to do business should be the fundamental right.  Compensation should be to make good enough for the loss if the loss is in the National Interest.  Government’s meaningless takeovers will kill efficiency.  With this case and R.C. Cooper Law, Nani proved that the strength of the Constitution is to protect even the individual right  

Nani is also known for his philanthropy and was instrumental in establishment of Bhartiya Vidhya Bhawan in Chennai.   Currently, he meets Gwalior King Madhav Rao Scindia and emphasize on laws are to protect people and governments are to govern people.

One of the most important and landmark cases handled by Nani which remains as the landmark judgement is the Keshavanandha Bharathi Vs Union of India (Kerala High court) on the Kerala Land Reforms bill.  He roars again saying that we should not allow government to lay hands on private property, speech, writing and people’s behaviour and makes this a fundamental rights issue.   He insists in the court that Constitution is superior to the Government. 

Nani Palkhivala was and is regarded even today as the Crown Jewel of Law, even if it means being the enemy to the ruling government.  Politics create their own enemies.   Despite of his ideological differences with Indira Gandhi, he takes up the case to support her and reaches out to V.R. Krishna Iyer – moving with the vacation judge on the Indian Elections case in Allahabad Court. 

He smiles and tells that the downfall starts when one behaves arrogant because of being powerful, successful and super pridefully arrogant.   Despite the Interim Relief to Indira Gandhi in the election’s cases, President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declares emergency and Nani pleads Indira to stop this

‘Sarvadikaram Thalai Thukina Thalaigal Urulum’

Constitution is immortal whereas lawyers and politicians are not.  No life immunity should be given to the politicians who may take advantage of the same.  Nani fights against the reopening of the Keshavanda Bharathi case.   Indira feels that arresting Nani or someone like Lawyer Cho Ramaswamy should not be done as they are very honest, self-less and very special.   Moreover, she feels that she should not get them arrested and make them big

Nani is known to fight for Indian people and Indian Constitution till the end of his life.  He was keen to preserve constitution till last breadth.  He keeps questioning if the Democracy is a boon or a bane?     On insisting and fasting treat from Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Nani accepts to be the US Ambassador and goes on to develop Indo- US ties.   During this period, the iconic Nuclear Energy Accommodation agreements happen strengthening the Indo-US relations. 

Nani is also known to have supported Dr Badrinath in bringing up Shankar Netralaya in Chennai.  Nani applauds Dr Manmohan Singh as the best Finance Minister and calls him the Architect of Modern India. 

Despite his differences he had with Indira Gandhi, Nani goes heart-broken on her assassination.   He regards her as the powerful Prime Minister and Iron Lady of India.  

Nani Palkhivala thus becomes the God’s gift to the country, crown jewel of the legal fraternity and is amongst the top 10 lawyers in the world even today

A big thank you to Dummies Drama for bringing this amazing docu-drama and Nani Palkhivala live to all of us and cherish his great memory.    May DD be blessed with more and more powerful stories and keep their theatre journey ever shining!  God bless.

And now you can find me and Raghu in the engrossed audience:-)

Long live the legacy of Nani Palkhivala…economist, advocate and India’s most favourite citizen.  Jai Hind!

Dummies Drama - Veezhven Endru Ninaithayo - A viewer's Review

Dummies Drama's Presented - Veezhven Endru Ninaithayo  drama today at Narada Gana Sabha.  As theater enthusiast and Dummies Drama's ardent followers, Raghu and I decided to make it for the drama after a relaxed Sunday afternoon. 

One word - 'Brilliant'  and Second Words -'Thought Provoking'.

Honestly, DD is one troupe of people who never disappoint you.   Strong in the subjects they choose, depth in the dialogues they deliver,  humour and wit in the life's real events that unfold,  artists who make you feel like you know them for ages and the entire stage coordination that shows the amount of practice and hardwork they put behind every Tamil Play.    If you want to enjoy Tamil Theater to its fullest, please do go for their drama's and they for sure gets interwine beautifully in your life somewhere or the other. 

Veezhven Endru Ninaithayo ( Do you think I will fall down?)  is such a emotional drama that makes you feel glued for the full 1.5 hours and for few minutes after the curtains down at the end as well.     

Many a times, Raghu and I wait for Sridhar sir to come on stage, for we are his die hard fans after watching 'Pratibhimbam' where he played the role of PM Narendra Modi.  But today,  Sreevothsan sir did not even give us a chance to think of Sridhar sir missing in the play.   Sreevothsan effortlessly played the role of the Protogonist Shantaram.    Shantaram is a reflection of each one of us when we face adversity in life, especially when we know that the end is inevitable.  The strong message of 'Life is how you take it'...sinks in you slowly and deeply as you keep watching the play. 

I am now repeatedly thinking if I should play a spoil sport and disclose the story line here, for those who want to go and watch it in the coming days or should I just review how I felt....as a theater lover, this play gave me something, I never thought of.   Prepare 'Bucket List!'.

Brief jist of the story-line!

Protogonist Shantaram finds out that he is suffering from Cancer and is probably in the final stages.  He ends up in a dilemma whether to go for the painful process of the treatment, share it with the family and make them unhappy and spend his remaining days in hospital and treatment or if he has to just let the treatment go,  manage it with painkillers and live life happily for whatever days he is left with.    After a deep self-introspection with his friend 'Raghava'...he decides to keep this a secret from his family.   He goes on to prepare a bucket list initially which were more of unrealistic dreams - like visiting Seven Wonders of the World, or atleast Niagara Falls, visiting all temples before his end comes.   Later on, on his advice from his friend Raghava, he rewrites his bucket list which is more realistic with things like 'spending time with his father,'. growing a mustache, ' planning for finances for his family',  'making food for his wife one day',  visiting all his friends and relatives, ' apologizing to all the people who he could have hurt in the past',  and bucket list no 7 of having a inner urge to meet his beloved lover Chitra whom he last met 25 years ago. 

The drama unfolds on how Shantaram starts achieving his bucketlist items,  a subtle love story  that tells us that 'Love can never be past tense', and it is only how maturely we understand it and keep it alive, to keep the spark of life and go on.    The drama shows intense scenes of family happiness, how casually dialogues create sparking thoughts in his daughter,  how his wife reads through pain in his eyes,  how a father poignantly clearly states that Shantaram can do what ever he wants and makes him happy and not just for looks...how a son calmly does his duties and adheres to his father's wish of taking care of his ailing friend...and how his ex-love Chitra strikes a balance between her love story and her present husband and their life together.    One dialogue that got maximum applause was between Chitra and Shantaram -  when she tells him that she told about their love story to her husband, and when Shantaram tells that 'how much ever a wife is understanding, this is one thing that never a man should tell his wife!'....clap clap clap!  And the true love he has for his wife when he wants her to be with him in the next life as well....                   

Finally, when it is time and Shantaram understands that most of his bucket list is now fulfilled, and final one is to go to Kasi..in search of Salvation...the play reveals the real identity of his friend...and his inner-self.   I think most of us need many a time, need to sit in silence and speak to yourself, to bring in the right conclusion from the conflicting thoughts and people and situations around us!

Three Cheers to  the amazing artists.   The role played by Shantaram's wife needs a special mention.   She did give her best.  The style of her saree draping and body manners made her have a strong resemblance to Nirmala Sitaraman....and her dialogues delivery and acting was really good.   Nithya as Shantaram's lover Chitra carries herself very easily.   Having seen her in many of DD's plays before, she was not a surprise in terms of dialogues or acting and she keeps up her space with ease.   The artists who played the role of his children were also very good.   Though for few scenes, the doctor, the company director,  the father,  Chitra's husband,  nephew characters lived upto the expectations.   The actor who played the role of Raghava - the self image of Shantaram did give his best and surely was in par with Sreevothsan.  The back stage coordination was flawless.

Music, Lights,  Make-up and Prompts were are well thought off and the technical team did their usual best as part of any other DD Plays.

Thank you Dummies Drama's for giving us a very heart-touching theater experiences time and again.  May your tribe increase, may you entertain us more and may your success become wide-spread.  God bless!

Long live Theater....and May the Creative juices keep flowing to enthrall our audiences for long!