JOIN USDirector Sunandha Raghunathan is all set to stage ‘Bad Hindu’ on April 28 at 7.30 pm at The Courtyard, Shantinagar. Performed in ‘Kattai Koothu’ (Tamil theatre), the play is an eight-hour ‘Kattai Koothu’ performance of ‘Aravan’s sacrifice’ from The Mahabharata. Bad Hindu subverts the labels we place on ourselves and scrutinises the nature of identity and its construction. In a quick chat with Metrolife, Sunandha Raghunathan, talks about the making of ‘Bad Hindu’ and the idea behind the play.
The play has an interesting title. Tell us about it?
The title is entirely provocative and gratuitous coined up only to ruffle some feathers. Unfortunately, the form of this show, with a reset at the end of every iteration, lends itself to this title. I have to say that every time I stage this show, I get calls or comments about the title -- ‘Bad Hindu’. During the Chennai show, my mentor who was forwarding messages about the play received many indignant calls from the right-wing saying how can you spread such a message, we are very annoyed. He said, “Listen, just come and watch the show and believe me you will not be annoyed.”
What form of theatre have you used?
It is a traditional form of theatre that tells the story of Aravan from The Mahabharatha. I draw parallels to the Aravan of then and the Aravans of now - people sacrificed by their own for the sake of the greater good. They are the Aravans of today.
Are the issues in the play something that everybody battles with. What do you think?
This play is about Aravan, a prince who was sacrificed by his own family for the sake of the greater good.
The play is about identity - that is entirely a modern preoccupation. However, if you live in India where so many people are jostling for space, it is your identity that you cling to in order to make sense of the world around you. It is through that lens that you view the world and it colours your world.