JULY 2019 | GLIMPSE | 49in a play had, its balance at various
points & what happens to that balance if
the play progresses in a certain direction
just like it happens in a theorem. I got all
my technical training required to write a
play from mathematics.”
Even though Karnad wanted to be an
English writer, his heart was rooted into
the stories of Indian mythology which he
had heard in his childhood in the rain-
kissed town of Sirsi.
A pillar of Indian theatre
Karnads plays were a conglomeration
of myth & history but with a touch of
contemporary reality & relevance. He
wrote his first play “Yayati” in 1961. He
wrote his most famous play Tughlaq
when he was just 20 years old. The play
retold the story of Delhi’s impulsive king
who was misunderstood in his time and
whose grand ideas became an allegory
for the Nehruvian era. It is a perfectly
structured play where each character
is well chiseled like a piece of chess.
Each character is another dimension of
Tughlaq.
Taledanda, another play written
by Karnad, is a deeply political &
contemporary play penned in the
backdrop of the cultural-communal
churn of the Mandala-masjid India of
the early 1990’s, but is actually the story
of Basavannas-a 12th century Kannada
poet & reformer’s idealistic Kalyana, a
utopian idea which was a real kingdom
in Karnataka’s history. The play takes
a dig at the society, culture & politics.
While in Yayati, Karnad explored the
clash between the demands of the
family & society with an individual’s
rebelliousness.
He later wrote Hayavadana which
was based on Thomas Mann’s 1940
novella, The Transposed Heads which
echoed a tale from Kathasaritasagara.
The play raised a profound question of
what’s constitutes identity & beauty-
supreme intellect or raw physical
prowess, just like the conflict between
Athens & Sparta which plays out within
each of us.
Karnad also translated Badal Sircars-
Evam Indrajit which talks about the
pessimism and nihilism which existed inIndia within a decade of independence.
A Renaissance actor
Karnad will be best remembered for the
characters which he portrayed on the
silver screen including that of a strict
father to Swami in Malgudi Days- a
cult television series broadcasted in the
1980’s. The actor made his acting as well
as screen writing debut with the 1970
Kannada film- Samskara which won the
Indian Presidents Golden Lotus award
for Kannada cinema.
As an actor Karnad was also seen in
two Shyam Benegal films which took
on the feudal structure. In Nishant,
he essayed the role of a helpless
schoolmaster, who seeks justice after
his wife is abducted while he plays an
idealist doctor who comes to a village
in Gujarat to help organise the farmers
in Manthan. While in Basu Chatterjee’s
Swami, Karnad essays the role of a
wheat trader-Ghanshyam who treats his
wife with a patience which is perplexing
to the wife. In Sutradhar, Karnad takes
on a negative role of a cruel zamindarwho commits atrocities on the villagers.
In the Marathi film, Umbartha,
Karnad aptly essays the character
of a lawyer who supports his wife’s
empowerment but only up to a limit.
While in the film Samskara, Karnads
performance as Praneshaharya is
outstanding, where he tries to portray
the working of a Brahmins mind caught
between the society & his own intellect
to help avert an impending tragedy.
Another notable Karnad film was-
Kaddu which he wrote & directed about
witchcraft & blind faith.An impeccable director
The story of the film Bhumika (1977)
is also written by Karnad along with
Shyam Benegal. Karnad made his
directorial debuet with Vamsha Vrishka,
a Kannada film which won the National
film award for best direction.
Karnad also directed Utsav (1984)
a Hindi erotic film which was based
on the 2nd-century BC, Sanskrit play
Mrichakatika (the little clay cart) by
Sudraka. The films story revolves
around a courtesan Vasantasena and her
chance meeting with a poor Brahmin
Charudatta in Ujjain.
In his death, the nation has lost a
rare gem of a talent who will always
be remembered for his intellectual
contribution to cinema & theatre.70 mm TalkiesG