Theatre group to mark50 years with 5-day festival

Kala Gangotri will stage three of its old plays and two new productions

Karnataka’s foremost theatre group Kala Gangotri is marking its 50th anniversary with a five-day festival in Bengaluru, starting Wednesday.

They will stage three old plays (‘Mukhyamantri’, ‘Mysuru Mallige’ and ‘Mokajjiya Kanasugulu’) and two new productions (‘Matte Mukhyamantri’ and ‘Manga Manikya Prahasana’) at the untitled festival.

It was friends and BCom students BV Rajaram and HN Chandrashekar who started the theatre group in Bengaluru in 1971. It has performed over 3,000 shows in India and abroad and worked with 500-plus artistes since.

Reflecting on their initial days, Rajaram says they were low on resources but high on passion. They were buoyed by their mission to “build human relationships through theatre” and to take these stories far and wide by keeping ticket costs nominal.

They began by performing Nobel Prize laureate Albert Camus’ ‘Caligula’ based on the life of a Roman Emperor in Kannada between 1973 and 1974. They went on to adapt Greek plays but also the works of Kannada luminaries like Kuvempu, Girish Karnad and HS Venkateshmurthy.

Literature professor D Chandrashekhar, renowned in the Kannada theatre scene, directed Shakespearean tragedy ‘Macbeth’ for the group. ‘Achalayatana’ (1978) became their first play to receive both public and critical appreciation. It won first prize at the state level.

And ‘Mukhyamantri’, a play on a chief minister who fights betrayal and cut-throat politics to stay in power, was made in 1980, with Rajaram serving as its director and Chandrashekhar as the protagonist.

It was a translated work. The play was received well right from its premiere in the open space behind Ravindra Kalakshetra in the city and Chandrashekar, now an actor-politician, went on to earn the moniker Mukhyamantri Chandru. Next January, it will complete its 800th show.

Over the years, Kalagangotri has collaborated with senior artistes such as BM Krishnegowda, BV Nanjundaiya, Bhargavi Narayan, and Paresh Kumar. They also perform street theatre on subjects like pollution, epilepsy, drug addiction, drinking, and other social issues through its Kalajanaranga programme. They also have a mime troupe, which has trained more than 150 people. ‘Mooki-Taaki’ is their most famous mime play and has been staged more than 1,350 times, all the way from Bengaluru to America and New Zealand. As for Rajaram, he has gone on to serve as the director of the prestigious theatre institute in Mysuru, Rangayana, and is now a Central Sangeet Nataka Academy member. He is happy about the present theatre industry. “It is progressive and youngsters are giving it the recognition it deserves. Parents are sending their children for theatre workshops and personality development. Theatre gives a psychological makeover to its students. We hope the coming generation can carry this legacy forward”.

*From December 28 to January 1 at Ranga Shankara, J P Nagar. Tickets available online and at the venue. Look up Kalagangotri on Facebook for the schedule.