Providing room for laughter

Shri Krishna Sandhana, a play directed by Mahadev Prasad, was performed by Ranga Tantra at K H Kala Soudha recently. A comedy, inspired by the characters from Mahabharata, it stressed the importance of education through a storyline from Mahabharata called Krishna Sandhana. It showcased the difficulty of teaching a mythological play to a bunch of students who could not understand Mahabharata or its depth.

Ananth, a member of the audience, says, “The play was really good and the actors were impressive. But I felt that it could have stressed more on the mythological characters. The singers were underutilised and the music could have been better.”

The play was scripted well. “Words were very intelligently used to evoke laughter. The character of Duryodhana was well-portrayed. In totality, I think the play was a paisa vasool show and it is after a long time that I am laughing so much,” says Meghana, who had come to watch the play,

The play had two different angles to it — one mythological and the other, comic. “Though the play portrayed the characters of Mahabharata, I look at it as a comedy. It showed the audience how difficult it is to explain to uneducated people about characters like Krishna and Bhishma. The play, to that extent, was successful,” says Rathna. The play received much applause and the venue was packed. As the seats were full, people sat on the floor as well. The Ranga Tantra team says that they had always wanted to act in an unconventional comedy. “There are many plays that draw humour from the fights between husband and wife but such plays are too common. We wanted to do something different, so we chose the script of Mahabharata. The play also had the message that education is important to pursue a morally strong life,” they say.