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Powerful depiction

Odalala, after 99 shows, still exudes the same power as it first did. Much of the original cast still play their roles



POWERFUL Umashree’s detailed characterisation of the old wise woman was gut wrenching

Devanuru Mahadeva’s Odalaala’s first dramatic version saw light in the late Seventies. It was resurrected recently in 2006, after the demise of its famous director C.G. Krishna Swamy. Ranga Sampada performed the 99th sh ow of the same play at the closing of the NSD festival, at Ranga Shankara recently.

It is indeed a rare and a fortunate experience to catch a near original cast of actors perform their successful play. This version of Ranga Sampada’s Odalaala had some of the actors from the original show in donning the same roles. Umashree played the role that made her famous as Sakavva, Ramamurthy played Dafedar Shankara, and Mico Chandru essayed the role of a speech impaired villager.

Odalaala stands as a strong illustration of a story that has been adapted into a play. The plot is complex and social in nature, and is set in a village struggling with caste biases, tyranny of the haves over the have nots, and of strong people made weak by the sheer force of a system. This becomes the crux of the story – of how Sakavva, a visibly old and frail person, stands stoically amidst all her concerns, fears and woes – still struggling to get a hold, not just for herself, but for her entire family. CGK’s choice of the story for a play perhaps represents the theatre of the Seventies in Bangalore which was more leftist in nature.

Perpetual struggles

Sakavva has toiled all her life as a dalit woman, a manual worker to make some property for her self and her family. They are the only constants in her ever insecure life. She is constantly dodging the fear of losing all of it to the cunning schemes of her daughter-in-law, or to the evil zamindar. She taunts her daughters-in-law and harasses her sons for not keeping a check on their wives. Her sons live with her and depend on her for their lives. They fight, bicker throughout the play only to come together at the end as a family eating a meal together. This has for long been a motif of a happy family, only this evening is torn apart by the police who barge in looking for thieves. The pain and conflict in the lives of these poor, helpless lot are shown in the way the family crumbles to social injustice that is heaped on them. They are targeted by the SI, because of a wrong tip off. It is always a treat o see Umashree on stage. Her detailed characterisation of the old wise woman is gut wrenching. She is at one time the belittling mother, and at the same time brimming with maternal instincts. While the play is full of scores of other actors, the only other who stands out is Mico Chandru. What was disappointing though was the set changes. This seemed like a long and laborious process and made one wonder how this was still not mastered after 99 shows.