Modern Tamil Drama

Topic started by Era.Murugan on Mon Nov 1 10:00:06 .
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

1) Jayakanthan once said we Tamils have no Natakam and what we call as Tamil plays are not dramas - '"In the west they grow apples..we cultivate only brinjals.. it is wise to accept that..instead if we attempt to establish our brinjals indeed are apples, that would be ludicrous"

Do you agree with that?

2) Author Jayanthan (not Jayakanthan) - he has written memorable plays like 'Ninaikkappadum' (Annam Veliyeedu) - says his plays are for reading and not for performing on stage. Can drama be sub-classified like that?

3) In Marathi, we have eminent playrights like Mahesh Yelkunchwar ('Vade Chirabandi'), Satyadev Dubhey ('Nishant' - Shyam Benegal's movie) and Vijay Tendulkar ('Saharam Binder', ''Kasiram Kotwal'). In Kannada, we have Girish Karnard ('Thuglak', 'Nagamandala'). Do we have one such playwright in Tamil?

Era.Murugan

Responses:

From: Gokul (@ bhxrr1.flpk.pwcglobal.com) on: Mon Nov 1 12:02:56

I have heard of a personality called N.muthuswamy
in this field. There are some magazines dedicated for drama too - mEdai, nAdakaveLi etc.
From: G. Saminathan (@ 98ca7e5e.ipt.aol.com) on: Mon Nov 1 15:58:12

Once Gnani did some serious efforts on 'Naveena naadagam' on experiment basis. But due to the cultural problems of Tamils (of course we are very modern in these things...we follow 'pazhayana kazhithalum, puthiyana puhuthathalum'...), Dramas were replaced by movies. Even now, commercial dramas staged by Crazy Mohan, S.Ve.Sekhar, etc.
receive good response. Na.Muthuswamy, with the help of Ford foundation, tries to produce good dramas through his Koothuppattarai.

Tamil dramas face the same problems of serious literature in Tamil. But technology has made print media very cost-effective. So Modern serious literature still survive with the help of small literary magazines. But the cost of stage and other things have increased a lot. So they can not afford.
From: bb (@ franck.crhc.uiuc.edu) on: Mon Nov 1 22:48:55

thamizh drama has been pretty successful in the past, and of late is getting stereotyped into comedy dramas. thi.ka.si, sivaji, k.balachandar, visu, r.s.manohar, chO, YGP, poornam viswanathan have maintained thamizh drama for a long time. v. gopalakrishnan tried staging dramas everyday a few years ago. it was a moderate success, i believe. sujatha + poornam combination was highly successful. nowadays, crazy mohan and SVSekar rule the roost. but, there have been parallel efforts in drama, like Gnani, the recent staging of ponniyin selvan, indira parthasarathy's ramanujar etc. don't know how the efforts are on now..
From: bb (@ franck.crhc.uiuc.edu) on: Tue Nov 2 01:43:28

murugan, regarding the first point, defining what a drama is and defining what a "good drama" is, is IMO highly subjective. we may not have playwrights of the stature of miller or beckett. but, we have definitely developed a genre here which is unique and has influenced other mass media like cinema or TV. and, i am not sure if the western paradigm of a drama is the one to follow.
on a lighter vein, may be we are defining a "thamizh middle class tragedy" similar to a greek tragedy, going by the number of dramas which explore a typical middle class family:-))))
From: ma. sivagnanam (@ 203.106.49.205) on: Sun Dec 19 04:52:11

C.Ravindran, Professor in modern Indian Languages,Delhi has been doing excellent things in the field of drama.
-Ma. Sivagnanam
From: Pandey Vishnu Kant Sharma (@ ) on: Thu May 3 21:42:06

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From: Bhoori (@ c660409-a.frmt1.sfba.home.com) on: Sat May 5 14:22:22

Shri Murugans question is a very intriguing one. We do not seem to have a dramatic tradition at all. Our drama tradition has been defined by Sankaradas Swamigal - a musical - from times immemorial and now has gone the melodramatic way. Also, the realization that plays can be read doesnt seem to exist.

I "kinda" agree with Jayanthan about his classification. I beleive that some plays have a whole different impact when they are performed. e.g. Ghashiram Kotwal is powerful when you read it, but the effect of the chorus has to be seen to be beleived. Before seeing Ghashiram Kotwal, I never understood the need for devices like chorus and how they can be used. Or take a play like the Good Woman of Schechwan. Till I read that play, I always thought that masks are a very childish device. But a play like Man and Superman or the Enemy of the People can be read without losing too much.

Incidentally, Ghashiram Kotwal is the only truly great play that I have seen. This opened my eyes to how plays should be. Before that, all I had was the mindless drivel from S. V. Sekar types. I later saw Tale Danda but was not too impressed.

The only authors who have tried to make a mark in this field are Annadurai, Cho Ramaswami, Jayanthan, Sujatha and Indira Partthasarathi.

I havent read or seen a play by Annadurai. But I saw two movies based on his plays viz. Oriravu and Velaikkari. His plays generally suffer from cliched character development but Velaikkari was truly powerful. Oriravu wasnt great, though. I also beleive that his Sivaji play had a great impact. Solely based on these two movies, I think that if Annadurai had really applied himself, he would have become a great playwright.

Cho Ramaswami can perhaps be compared to Aristophanes. There isnt much in the way of dramatic technique (and he frequently appropriates themes - Vande mataram was based on Tale of Two Cities, Manam Oru Kurangu was based on Pygmalion and so on). But his satire is quite often biting. The problem is, like Aristophanes, we dont often remember the context in which this satire is done. Still a play like Unmaiye Un Vilai Enna was quite decent.

Long back, I read a play called by Kanakkan (in some Kanaiyazhi, I think) by Jayanthan that impressed me a lot. IMO, Kanakkan can be read without any loss. I have heard a lot about Ninaikkap Padum but havent been able to read it yet.

I dont think Sujathas plays like Dr. Narendranin Vinodha Vazhakku, Oonjal etc. count. They have nothing much to offer in terms of dramatic technique etc. But long back, there was a short play by him called Sarala that came out as a supplement to Kalki. It has two sisters as protaganists, one being a traditional housewife and the other one having a little rebellion in her. It was quite Tennessee Williamsque. Does anyone remember this play?

I recently bought and read Ramanujar. While I wouldnt classify this as a great play, I think it is a good attempt.

I have heard a lot of people like N. Muthusami, Gnani etc. but have not read them or seen their plays. So cannot comment on them.

I have also heard that Thi. Janakiraman wrote plays. I beleive he wrote President Panchatcharam, Nalu Veli Nilam etc. Also, P.S. Ramaiah wrote plays like Therotti Magan, Policekaran Magal etc. I know nothing about this plays and am mentioning them so that someone else may possibly throw some light on them.

It is quite surprising that even though the Tamilians were aware of Nadagath Thamizh from times immemorial, there hasnt been a truly great play or dramatic tradition in TN. I mean, there is no great play from ancient times (like Mriccha Kadikam) and no great play from modern times!
From: Hari Krishnan (@ 203.199.231.47) on: Sat May 5 21:46:25

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From: Ramji (@ 205.177.170.146) on: Mon May 7 10:43:29

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The only drama I have read is Ramanujar. E Paa got a national prestigous award for it. I think Ramanujar is the readable rather than the playable category.
From: Montresor (@ ramadasr.user.msu.edu) on: Mon Feb 17 13:58:22

I saw a play called 'Koondhal Nagaram' by Murugboopathy. Has anyone seen it?
From: Montresor (@ ramadasr.user.msu.edu) on: Mon Feb 17 13:59:32

I saw a play called 'Koondhal Nagaram' by Murugboopathy. Has anyone seen it?
From: Niranjan (@ const.ee.ufl.edu) on: Thu Mar 6 11:19:03

The tamils are adept in improvisational drama. The stage dramas of Crazy Mohan, S V Sekar, have many such elements; but the best example of Tamil Drama is the "Therukkoothu", where contemporary issues are dramatized, and enacted, with a lot of improvisations during the play.

"Therukkoothu" has been in tamil culture for centuries. There are so many excellent playrights that one cannot mark out a few as "great"!!!

In contemporary times, Shivaji Ganesan, Cho, Karunanidhi, N Muthusami, Gnani keep/kept the torch burning.
From: jagadeeswarn j (@ 202.54.26.125) on: Thu Mar 13 05:26:42

dear friends... we,students here at BITS,Pilani have a play troupe called Pilani Thamizh Mandram.We have been staging quality dramas every semester since 1980s.i wud like to discuss more 'bout this.Interested people please mail me at
f2000099@bits-pilani.ac.in
From: jay (@ cpe0050ba64df20-cm014270028625.cpe.net.cable.rogers.com) on: Mon Jun 16 09:28:57

i am jay from toronto, canada and i want to buy s.ve.sekhar's and crazy mohan's drama cds can somebody help me to find the website to buy on line or some other way to buy these cds
with regards
jay
From: K. Vasudevan (@ ) on: Tue Dec 2 06:41:46

In Delhi I have written, directed 5 Tamil plays which are very different. I have also directed a Hindustani Play (Adaptation of Miser by Moilere)staged at National School of Drama with colleagues. My next production is Bhashanga Ragam adapted from T. Janakiraman`s short story with same title. KP is also giving very good plays.
From: Srilatha Vijay (@ cache130.156ce.maxonline.com.sg) on: Thu Aug 26 03:08:47

Hi , I am Latha
We are having a cultural show in singapore. I am looking for some comedy filler programs for the show. Can somebody tell me where I can buy or get the Vindhya vivek comedy sequence in Malaysia Star nite.
From: Srilatha Vijay (@ cache130.156ce.maxonline.com.sg) on: Thu Aug 26 03:08:55

Hi , I am Latha
We are having a cultural show in singapore. I am looking for some comedy filler programs for the show. Can somebody tell me where I can buy or get the Vindhya vivek comedy sequence in Malaysia Star nite.
From: N S Yamuna (@ ppp-219.65.103.205.chn.vsnl.net.in) on: Tue Sep 14 03:16:43 EDT 2004

Can anyone give me any information on what forms of Tamil drama were prevalent from 1600 to the mid 1800s? Any references ? preferebly in English, but in any language otherwise. I am doing the chapter on Theatre for the Madras Gazetteer being brought out by the Association of British Scholars, Chennai Chapter. Thanks
From: K.PENNESWARAN (@ dhcp-192-213-26.in2cable.com) on: Tue Sep 21 07:44:15 EDT 2004

I HAVE NOW STARTED PROCESS FOR STAGING EE.PA'S RAMANUJAR. I EXPECT TO STAGE IT AROUND DEC THIS YEAR. MAY TAKE THAT TO CHENNAI TOO.

ANBUDAN

KAYPEE
From: raju.s (@ bbcache-16.singnet.com.sg) on: Sun Nov 7 21:31:06

is there any possibility to get SVe Sekar drama CDs.

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