Nilavara

Sangeetha Nataka AkadeAwards   for 2010  

Thrissur: Kozhikode Pookkad Kalalayam's ‘Nellu' has won the best professional drama award for 2010 instituted by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi. Akademi secretary C. Ravunni announced the awards here on Thursday.

The drama also won five more awards in various categories, including Best Director (Manoj Narayanan); Best Actor (Jaya Noushad); Second Best Actor (Balram Kottur); Best Stage Designer (Sasi Kott); and Best Costumier (U. K. Raghavan).

Thiruvanathapuram Mamata's ‘Snehichu Theerathavar' has been selected as Second Best Drama.

Nilambur Mani won the Best Actor award for his performance in ‘Bhakthakavi Poonthanam'. Another actor of the same drama Shaji Aralumood shared the Second Best Actor award.

Pallichal Bindu (‘Neelapponman') and Anu Kunjumon (‘Pancha Nakshathra Swapnam') shared the Second Best Actress award.

Rajan Kizhakkanela has been selected as the Best Playwright for dramas ‘Ramanan' and ‘Bhakthakavi Poonthanam'. Cherunniyur Jayaprasad (‘Evide Asokanum Jeevichirunnu') is the Second Best Playwright. Appy Hippy Vinod is the Best Comedian. Harikrishnan won the Best Male Singer award for ‘Bhakthakavi Poonthanam'. Subha (Ramanan) is the Best Female Singer.

M.K. Arjunan and Udayan Anjal shared the award for Best Music Direction for the drama ‘Ramanan'. Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma (‘Evide Asokanum Jeevichirunnu') is the Best Lyricist.

Wilson Samuel (Matrimonial .com) won award for Best Background Music. Award for light arrangement was given to Payyannur Murali (‘Unarthupattu').

‘Ucha Pranthan' of Valluvanadu Signals won the Special Jury award. Ibrahim Vengara has won an award for his contribution to the Malayalam theatre. ‘Malayala Sthree Nataka Charithram' written by Sajitha Madathil won the Best Book on Theatre. Chacko C. Anthikkad and P. Praseetha shared the award for best article on Theatre.

  The staging of 'Bhaktakavi Poonthanam'. Photo: S. Gopakumar

‘Bhakthakavi Poonthanam' centred on the life of Poonthanam Namboothiri.

When Arya Antharjanam broke down holding her dead child close to her breast, the audience held its collective breath in distress. Their eyes filled up upon hearing the reaction of the child's father, Poonthanam Namoothiri, the legendary poet whose devotion to Lord Krishna was ested by this sudden tragedy… “While little Krishna is dancing in our hearts, do we need little ones of our own?”

The Karthika Tirunal Theatre in East Fort in the capital city resonated with bhakti when Aksharakala Theatres, Thiruvananthapuram, presented a play ‘Bhakthakavi Poonthanam,' recently. The two-and-a-half hour play was broadly divided into three sections depicting three stages of the poet's life.

The first stage, in which we see Poonthanam and his wife, Arya Antharjanam, as expectant parents, was depicted with élan. In contrast to the pious Poonthanam is the Casanova-like Karukambalam Kamadevan Namboothiri. The latter's character provides a much-needed comic relief to an otherwise serious narration. Kamadevan Namboothiri represents dilettantes in society, who despite their lack of knowledge, claim to share equal space with true artistes. But the sequence ends with the tragedy and Poonthanam leaves his house for Guruvayur.

Stirring experience

A scene in which Poonthanam sits on the veranda of an inn listening to stories of filial ingratitude could not have failed to touch the hearts of the audience. For the poet in Poonthanam, it was a stirring experience listening to the common man. He decides to become a bridge for the people to reach the Almighty. Here the play separates into many layers. You can skim the surface, enamoured by the beautiful story or prick up your ears and listen to the muffled voices of the repressed. After his meeting with Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri, Poonthanam becomes the voice of the marginalised. Melpathur, who wrote the great Sanskrit work ‘Narayaneeyam,' refuses to read ‘Jnanappana,' Poonthanam's work in Malayalam.

“It is sad that young people nowadays do not read much about their own culture,” says Meenambalam Santhosh, director of the play.

“Most of them are not aware of our land's history or its historical figures. Their roots are gone. They don't know where they belong to, and as an artiste I am troubled by that,” he adds. Aksharakala's earlier plays such as ‘Kathivannoor Veeran,' ‘Palattukoman' and so on, were also on the same line, trying to breathe life into mythological and historical characters.

Since the story of ‘Bhakthakavi Poonthanam,' is about a great poet, the narrative is punctuated with music and poetry. The costumes and stage props were perfect and in tune with the late 16th century.

Nilambur Mani essayed the role of Poonthanam perfectly while, Koonthalloor Vikraman as Kamadevan Namboothiri was also exceptional. Cherayi Suresh, Shaji Aralummoodu, Anil Menon, Kerala Appu, Anitha and Sreelatha Menon played different roles in the play.