Kamala

From Kamala’s endearing artless simplicity to Sarita’s doomed resignation, to Jai Singh’s chauvinistic bravado to Kakasaheb’s tired wisdom to Kamla Bai’s in-the-face repartees to the way things are , the cast of SPJIMR’s theater group GASP (Guild of Actors at SP) brought Vijay Tendulkar’s play ‘Kamala’ to life on Sunday evening at the SPJIMR audi. The GASP production of Kamala was brilliantly directed by Anu Mishra and Jyoti Prakash.

Kamala is an indictment of male society in which women are mere stepping-stones in a man’s quest for power and fame. For those unfamiliar with the background of the play, it was based on journalist Ashwini Sarin's path-breaking investigative series in 1981 on the flesh trade in Madhya Pradesh. Sarin ‘bought’ the woman, Kamala, for Rs. 2,300. The journalist then wrote a series of articles exposing the prostitution trade and involvement of bigwigs in politics and police in early 1981. The original play was scripted and directed by Tendulkar and staged 150 times in 32 cities and in seven languages and it was made into a film with Deepti Naval playing the role of the tribal woman Kamala. Vijay Tendulkar’s works have a crucial rural character (Sakharam in Sakharam Binder, Lakhaniya in Aaakrosh, Kamala in Kamala etc.).

The play, very sensitively, brought out the helplessness of oppressed women, and equally of women in high society, who, on the surface, seem to have it all. Kamala mouths the most poignant line in the play when she asks Sarita, “And how much did he buy you for?” A shocked Sarita comes down from the sofa and sits on the floor…next to Kamala. What remains on the wall behind sofa is the shadow of Sarita. Subtle and meaningful. Great lighting by Divya Anand and Jay Tharoor. Kudos to Daisy D’Souza, Amshuman, Priya and Raji for excellent co-ordination and stage management! The sound design by Archish Mathe complemented the very many layers of emotions of the characters. Archana Iyer and Pragya Chaturvedi did a commendable job with the costumes.

Tejaswi turned in a balanced performance as the hapless Kamala. Sameer Walzade was brilliant as Jai Singh, the brash journo. So powerful was his performance that the character of Jai Singh evinced a marathi ‘hai’ in the minds of the audience. Meghana Kedar as Sarita, brought out the patience and frustration of a wife who has to hide her identity and intelligence in her husband’s shadow. The audience that broke into spontaneous applause every time Kamla bai came into the scene was clearly charmed by Kirti Ramnath’s portrayal of Kamla bai. Abhijeet Awasthi essayed the role of Kakasaheb who plays the perfect foil to Jai Sing’s brash bravado. Yogesh, in the role of Jai Singh’s reporter friend, shines in the scene (drunken) after the press conference. Sandy Cashyap was the enigmatic voice of Menon on the phone.

What was in Sarita's mind at the end of Kamala? Guess Sarita was just awakened and she is going through self-realization. She is now determined and confident - she knows she will leave Jai Singh because she will not put up with the situation any longer. However, because of her tradition and her sympathy for her husband who just lost his job and is in despair, she will stay with him for the time being. May be. Just may be.

I would not mind traveling all the way to Phaltan to catch a re-run of the play! Would happily buy my ticket too.

Cheers,
Ganga