Project Darling by Sharanya Ramprakash | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
We all know a bubbly, clever, talkative, hard to please, tough as nails woman – the favourite aunt, elder cousin or family friend who is just too “too cool” to care about being politically correct. Well, theatre has had its fair share of them and Kannada plays, Project Darling Due to this, he has once again come into the limelight.
The character of Khanavalli Chenni was popular in Kannada theatre, whose every statement was full of clever sarcasm and double meanings. Project DarlingDirector and playwright Sharanya Ramprakash looks at the role of these women in the face of persistent misogyny.
According to Sharanya, the play has emerged out of a research project for the India Foundation for the Arts. “As modern-day women, we still find life suffocating; I wonder how and what courageous personalities worked to overturn the system in those days?” Project Darling The film is about female sexuality at the intersection of culture and censorship, and how these women circumvent restrictions.
Project Darling by Sharanya Ramprakash | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“I wanted to trace my professional lineage as a theatre artiste and I toured Karnataka and met the heroines, villains and comedians of theatre. This play is based on that research and includes bytes, photographs and personal stories of women who have worked in theatre before me.”
Sharanya also pointed out what the women on stage were allowed to say (or not) and their play with words, jokes and hidden meanings. “The way words were used called into question notions of obscenity. However, it cannot be denied that the dialogues of characters like Khanavali Chenni have made a literary contribution to Kannada over the years, though it is not often acknowledged.”
During her research, Sharanya met theatre artistes from Hubli, Dharwad, Ranibenhur, Gubbi, Tumkur, Mysore and Bengaluru. “The oldest was 88-year-old R Manjulamma from the Sri Nataka Mandali. That troupe had a group of women who played men’s roles and dressed like men all their lives. And as a company, they gave many hit performances.”
Veteran theatre artist Satyavati | Photo courtesy: Special Arrangement
plot Project Darling The story revolves around the attempt of five modern-day theatre actors to find Khanavalli Chenni. “This iconic character takes pride in herself, shines outside the duality of the gender-based roles of wife, sister, mother and daughter accepted by society. She is only herself.”
“It’s confrontational,” says Sharanya.Project Darling It specifically examines women’s view of our bodies and desires. It’s also funny because the women we researched had so much fun. They weren’t afraid to suffer, they gave as good as they got, and they had so much fun doing it. We loved the process of making it Project Darling.,
Sharanya says the artistry Khanwali Cheni used brought her body to the centre of the debate on sexuality. “She had an opinion about everything and used hunger as a metaphor for all kinds of hunger; she made her body a place of divinity and deliberation. I was excited to explore this character – she loved living in this world as if it belonged to us women, even if it was just for a moment on stage.”
“If I had known that this was my professional legacy, I would have been a very different artiste today,” admits Sharanya.
90 minute Kannada play Project Darling Performances by Mathangi Prasan, Shobana Kumari, Shringa Biwi, Shashank Rajasekhar and Surabhi Vasisht will be seen.
Project Darling will be staged at Ranga Shankara on September 13 at 7.30 pm. Tickets are available on BookMyShow for ₹200.
Sharanya Ramprakash with yesteryear artist Manjulamma | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Published – September 12, 2024 08:01 PM IST
