JOIN US11-year-old’s one-man play seeks to metamorph society’s views on kids’ issues
At the age of 11 years, young Gokula Sahrudaya wants to make his friends understand issues like hunger and qualities like compassion through his one-man show ‘Chitte’.
Gokula plays the role of Paapani, who looks at the world from a child’s perspective. The duration of the play is 65 minutes and Gokula says he enjoys every minute of the play.
‘Chitte,’ which translates to butterfly, is a play directed by Krishnamurthy Kavathar and aims to remind every individual of his or her responsibility to nurture, mentor and shape a child.
Since March 2021, he has performed in 26 productions of the play in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Kittur and other parts of the state.
He also recently entered the Kalam Book of Records as the youngest artiste to perform one-man shows.
Gokula says that this play is special to him as it also depicts his father’s (Belur Raghunandan, playwright of the show) childhood struggles.
“This play is about the struggles my father faced when growing up. He is my inspiration. I also want to educate my peers about hunger, compassion and humanity through this play,” Gokula told DH.
Recalling his fondest memories of the show, Gokula said that once he performed two shows with a break of just five minutes as the audience loved it.
He says he practises his dialogues and expressions for weeks before performing the show and gives much credit to his director.
Currently studying in class 6 at Presidency School in Nandini Layout, Gokula is also learning Carnatic classical music.
When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he says, “I want to become a good human being first, an IAS officer next and a theatre artist and technician afterwards. I want to be an all-rounder.”
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