‘Nothing derogatory’,Raavanleela set to make a comeback

Written by Dr Kusum Kumar,Raavanleela is based on the trials and tribulations of a small-town theatre company that performs Ramleela. It depicts an exaggerated account of their chaotic performance by amateur actors; actors forget their lines,background music drowns dialogues,and characters smoke on stage. On September 5,around 15 HJS members protested against the staging of the play at the Mysore Association Auditorium in Matunga (East),accusing it of ill-portraying the Hindu religion. Regardless of the protests,the play will now be performed by the same theatre group at Mysore Association Auditorium on December 11 and 12; Rangsharda,Bandra on December 18 and at Prithvi Theatre on January 22 and 23. “We are going to support Raavanleela. Last year Nadira Babbar’s play Pencil to Brush,based on M F Husain,had faced protests by HJS,but nevertheless we continued to stage it,” said Lalit Sathe,manager,Prithvi Theatre.

In August,Raavanleela was staged at Prithvi Theatre without complaints. But before it was to be staged at Mysore Association Auditorium,the Yatri group received an email by HJS containing a Youtube link of a spoof on Ramleela. “They accused us of creating that video and later demanded that we take the play off stage,” said Om Katare,director of the play and founder of Yatri. The protesters also went to the Matunga police station to file a complaint against the play,but the police refused to lodge it. “The police officials gave us a lot of support. Nearly 50 policemen even came to see the play and they did not find anything derogatory… We have informed the police about our future performance,and they have assured help,” Katare said.

“The actor who plays Raavan refuses to die in the end due to disagreement over payment with the organiser,and calls Ram ‘kambakht’. There is nothing derogatory in that. A couple of days ago an actor who was playing Raavan refused to die in a Ramleela being staged in Agra. And as far a saying bad things to Ram is concerned,that is exactly what Raavan did in the Ramayana. We performed the amateurish bit in a more professional way and that makes it look more grave,” Katare added.

Raavanleela was written nearly 35 years ago. It has also been staged by Bansi Kaul — a renowned Indian theatre director and founder of theatre group Rang Vidhushak. After the protests in Mumbai,the play was staged at Birla Hall in Jaipur on September 15. “The Tourism Ministry really liked our play and have recommended it for the upcoming theatre festival in Kota,” Katare said.