Realistic approach

The anecdote mirrors the

Kashmir situation—fractured and complicated. That’s probably what Ramanathan has tried to present in his latest play Kashmir Kashmir. “The whole idea was to take a risk. The play is very ambitious with multiple narratives and open text,” he says. Last year,the

Mumbai-based playwright “set off trying to pen a very realistic Emile Zola type of play.” That attempt resulted in Kashmir Kashmir,which is being produced by the Pune-based Aasakta theatre group and directed by Mohit Takalkar. Kashmir Kashmir

premieres in Pune at Symbiosis Viswabhawan on Thursday and in Mumbai at Prithvi on Friday.

Actions unfold at Hotel Kashmir Kashmir situated in the middle of nowhere. The hotel is the protagonist of the play which talks to the audience intermittently in its shadowy voice. A honeymoon

couple named Rajivlal and Champa—namesakes of the ’60s super-hit film Kashmir Ki Kali’s lead characters—check in there. They emphasise many clichés

concerning Kashmir. “When it comes to Kashmir,we have several preconceived notions. And films like Kashmir Ki Kali and Roja have exploited these,” he says. At the hotel,mysteries are never

resolved as freak or banal events keep happening. There is no logical end to the play,simply because there is no solution in real life.

The play refers to many “popular mythologies of Kashmir”,but the style is allegorical and the

effect is magical. “The incidents

in the play are allegorical to the

realistic situation in Kashmir.

The text encompasses two-three decades. The audience can relate to it if they are aware of the situation. It might be difficult for the uninitiated,” says Ramanathan,who used to visit this strife-torn state often as a child. Known for his research,his much appreciated plays include Jazz,Cotton 56,

Polyester 84 and Mahadevbhai.

It’s Ramanathan’s discordant writing that spurred Takalkar’s

interest. “It differs drastically from the contemporary playwriting of Vijay Tendulkar and Mahesh Elkunchwar. What stands out in the play is an example of ‘process writing’,a text which will be presented in the very act of

creation and change. This offers

possibilities,” says the director. Aasakta,which mostly does Marathi plays,has used audio-

visual mediums as well as animation for this English play. The

regular cast of the Aasakta group feature in the play; Radhika Apte and Sagar Deshmukh essay the lead roles.

Though the play deals with a subject that’s highly political,Ramanathan refrains from branding it as a political play. “It’s a good play. At least,I hope so. To stage this play,Aasakta has borrowed a lot of money. I hope they recover the money,” says the dramatist about this costly production.