Some voice actors of radio dramas crime and punishment
Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s crime and punishmentConsidered one of the giants of world literature, it has received a radio adaptation. The classic Russian novel published in 1866, which deeply describes the human psyche and the impact of crime on the human mind, is currently being broadcast as a radio drama by Akashvani Thiruvananthapuram.
“We have raised this in connection with completion of 75 years of All India Radio. The broadcaster has carried out several radio dramas based on classic works. But it is of epic proportions, especially in terms of the number of episodes. Our plays have reached just over 30 parts. But it will be many times more than that figure,” says V Shivakumar, deputy director (programmes), All India Radio, Thiruvananthapuram.
Raskolnikov, a college student, is the novel’s protagonist. Living in extreme poverty, he murders two women and the novel describes his suffering and mental trauma.
The book, which runs into six chapters and an epilogue, has been adapted into audio format by former All India Radio staff writer and critic M Rajiv Kumar, and directed by PA Biju, assistant director (programmes).
Rajeev, who has adapted several literary works in Malayalam and other languages as radio plays, admits that his prerogative while writing plays was to keep it simple. “This is the common man who listens to radio and so it was important that they connect with the story. And I had to simplify the narrative without compromising the core of the story. In addition, some long Russian names have been shortened. However, we have not excluded any part from the original work,” says Rajeev.
Biju says that the drama is expected to have more than 70 episodes and he had apprehensions about doing the work. “This has been a huge task for everyone who has worked on it. For example, the novel has a lot of monologues and long dialogues that have a lot of depth. The challenge was to convey the essence of these conversations to the audience. In fact, it took us several months to complete the production, although the recording was finished much earlier,” says Biju.
He says that silence has been given prominence so that the audience gets enough time to understand the scenes. Since the story is based in 1800s Russia, the music had to complement the premise. Dheeraj Sukumaran composed the score, while VA Deepa did the sound mixing.
Experienced voice artists have worked on this drama which features more than 25 important characters. Nariapuram Venugopal is the voice of Raskolnikov, and Nithuna Neville is the voice of Sonya, a source of support for Raskolnikov. Other voice artistes include Santhosh Sowparnika, Meena Neville, Thamalam Sreekumar, Ananthapuram Ravi, Adoor Ashadevi, Sudarshan Kudappanakkunnu and Sreekumar Mukhthala.
The drama is telecast at 2.15 pm on all days except Sundays.
published – January 02, 2025 03:06 PM IST
