Tulu drama ‘Satya Muninda?’ celebrates 50 years

play tulu Satya Muninda? It has completed 50 years since its first performance.

Written by Tamma Lakshman (now an art director) and comedian Raghav K. Directed by Ullal, the play was first staged on 1 January 1976 at the Mangaluru Town Hall. It was produced by Richard Castellino under the banner of Arun-Kiran Productions.

Shri Laxman told that the well-known actor of that time – J. Ravindra, Rohidas Kadri, Balkrishna Kadri, RK Mangalore, KV Bhatt, Raghav K. Ullal, UP Kunder, Peter Bolara, Krishnappa Kadri, Babu Bhatt, Reena Sinthi and Leena Govias starred in the play. The Hindu.

In fact, the success of this play inspired Castellino (now deceased) to enter the Tulu theater field.

“It was a special moment in those days when leading Kannada actors like Rajesh and Surekha came to Mangaluru to inaugurate this Tulu drama performance,” Mr. Lakshman said, adding that the play was later staged at various places.

Castellino later started the Dakshina Kannada Artists Association by uniting all the artists and organized a South Indian Arts Festival in Mangaluru. Under the Arun-Kiran Productions banner, Castellino, who also won the first National Award for the Tulu film bangar patalar In 1993, began organizing week-long Tulu drama festivals in Mangaluru.

He said, these festivals featured plays of famous playwrights like KB Bhandari and Machhendranath Pandeshwara and paved the way for the flourishing of Tulu theatre.

This particular drama (Satya Muninda?) It was performed in a cinematic style, with various scenes set against gorgeous settings changing in an instant. Special advertisements and film-style promotions were also done for this drama,” said Mr. Laxman.

He said, “In those days, modern technology was not available. Famous composers like Ashok-Charan provided cinematic background music for live performances. Sound effects provided by a mimicry artist were an important aspect of the drama.”

Satya Muninda? It was later published as a book in the 2013 book series by Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Akademi.

Mr. Lakshman said around 30 Tulu theater groups in Mangaluru and Udupi are currently staging shows. Each troupe consisted of about 25 professional artists. “Tulu plays are still the livelihood for many artistes,” he said.