Theater masks with red curtains as backgrounds, drama and comedy / 3D rendering, mixed media. , Photo courtesy: Fergragary
This weekend, a drama based on the second century Tamil epic Shilappadikaram The city will be staged in the city AnkletThis is expected to be a “adventure, minimal conversion” of the literary excellent work of Ilango Adgal which brought the story of Kannagi to the world.
An image from the rehearsal of the play. Photo courtesy: Special arrangement
Anklet Ancient Tamil is a contemporary conversion of epic ShilappadikaramDirector Shatroopa Bhattacharya says, it has been rebuilt for today’s audience. At the center, there is a woman named Kannagi whose world is destroyed when her husband Kovlan (starred by Nazar/Prateek), but falsely accused of theft, is killed. The angry Kannagi attaches the palace, proves her husband innocent, and calls Agni, the god of fire to punish the city. The play describes the journey of Kannagi from Pahar to betrayal, reconciliation and eventually Madurai, where a single function of injustice ignites divine anger that burns the entire city.
An image from the rehearsal of the play. Photo courtesy: Special arrangement
The story that begins as the story of disadvantage turns into disobedience. The anger of Kannagi (Pooja Srinan/Purti Gumste) erupted with injustice and questions the moral fabric of the society in patriarchal power.
Shatarupa says that this play examines crime, silence and truth through minimalist lenses – objects, shadows and body become the language of storytelling. “This is less about telling legend to say again and more about repeating it again: what happens when an old story faces the present? Can it still stand up? This is an ancient story that speaks to us many times. “
An image from the rehearsal of the play. Photo courtesy: Special arrangement
When Shatarupa read the screenplay (written by Vijay Pariki), he realized that it is not just an ancient Tamil epic, but “there is a story filled with questions that still bothers us. Kannagi’s calm anger, demand for justice, and resistance to an unhappy woman seemed to be a contemporary in the symbol of resistance from an unhappy woman.”
The thing that attracted Shatarupa towards him was not only a myth, but also the vacancy between it; Punches, silence, changing moral vision. ,Anklet It has become an opportunity to know how women’s stories are told, stated again and are often misunderstood. “Directioning it has been like interacting with time – listening to an old voice and finding out that it is still necessary to say it.”
Shatarupa says that Vijay has adopted the script beautifully with the original epic. “The challenge was to remain true to the emotional essence of the original text while talking to the contemporary audience. The epic is huge, poetic and filled with myth, but the theater demands immediate. I had to divide that expansion in some intimate and intestine, without losing his moral and emotional weight.”
Shatarupa says, Kannagi had to oppose the temptation to glorify as a saint. “I wanted him to remain human, faulty, impulsive and weak. This process was about finding a balance between history and now, reverence and rebellion. Every rehearsal was a conversation between myth and modernity.”
On 11 October at Alliance Frances de Bangalore. 4 pm and 7.30 pm. Bookmyshow.com ticket
Published – October 08, 2025 03:43 PM IST