New Kannada adaptation of A R Gurney’s ‘Love Letters’

City-based theatre group Bangalore Theatre Collective has adapted A R Gurney’s American play Love Letters. Titled 'Ninna Preethiya Naanu' and directed by Venkatesh Prasad, it will be staged on May 29 and 30 in Bengaluru, and on May 31 in Mysuru.

'Love Letters' is one of Gurney's notable works, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was previously adapted by Javed Siddiqui as 'Tumhari Amrita' in Hindustani, which went on to become a classic. 'Tumhari Amrita' was later translated into Kannada by Jayant Kaikini as Iti 'Ninna Amrita' and adapted to stage by M S Sathyu.

It follows the epistolary form of theatre. In Venkatesh’s adaptation, a story of unrequited love plays out through the reading of letters exchanged between Rashmi and Siddharth over the course of 40 years. They were childhood friends and started writing to each other at the age of 10. Actors Siri Ravikumar and Kishore play these roles. Kishore is returning to the stage after about 20 years.

“At a time when the entire world is in some kind of agitation, I wanted to tell a love story,” Prasad says. Stating that “personal is political”, the play explores how the characters’ social status, gender, and privileges affect their personal lives.

The play also serves as a nostalgic trip for those who grew up writing letters, says Venkatesh, adding, “And for people who don’t write anymore, it may inspire them to write.”

In-conversation with Kishore

Q: How does it feel to be back on the stage after so long?
It’s quite challenging and also stressful. But at the same time it feels nice. I’ve been wanting to do this for a very long time now. It’s been 20 years since I’ve done a play, it feels like a lifetime ago.

Q: What does it feel like to perform before an audience vs a camera?
Cinema is a luxury. We get a lot of time to do our shots. Here, it’s more spontaneous and every show is different.
Theatre is an actor’s medium though the director plays an important role. In cinema, the final product is in the hands of the director but in theatre, it’s with the actor. There’s a lot of freedom, not necessarily about deviating from what was rehearsed and planned before, but there is a lot of room for improvisation.
There is also freedom from all commercial pressures. The freedom that you have from all the boundaries of cinema, gives us a lot of scope to be more expressive, that too in today's times when it becomes even more important to speak up.

Q: What do you think of the epistolary form of theatre?
It’s a very interesting form. Initially I thought it would be easy but later I realised that it's even more difficult than enacting a play. You have to rely only on your voice to communicate everything. That became a very big challenge for me but there were good actors in the team to help me with my flaws. For someone like me who comes with the baggage of cinema, that was very important. Even in cinema, I don’t call myself an actor at all. I just react to my co-actor and the situations. Theatre still feels fairly new to me. I’m still exploring the medium.

On May 29 and 30, 7.30 pm at Ranga Shankara, J P Nagar. Tickets online.