Despite their admiration for each other, Mahatma Gandhi and Albert Einstein have never met in real life. The imaginative faculty of playwright and philosopher Sundar Sarukkai is now becoming the first rendezvous for the lives of these 20th-century marvels and that too in a rather strange juxtaposition—their relationship with their own children.
“I’ve previously written a play (Not an Ordinary Man) for the centenary celebrations of Einstein’s great discoveries and found out about his troubled connection with his daughter. Having studied Gandhi for a while, I found the resemblance rather striking,” says Sundar, who has studied his two subjects for nearly 20 years in his career as an expert on particle physics and a professor at National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bengaluru.
Two Fathers is brought to the stage by movie director Srinivas Bhashyam (known for 2009 flick Love Khichdi) who has also worked with the likes of Mani Ratnam. Running full-house shows since its premiere at the Goa Arts and Literature Festival in December last year, they’re back after a short hiatus and are bringing their play to Kochi.
A perfect profile
This 70-minute-long sophomore production by Goa-based Imaya Shows is the first major drama venture from Srinivas. “I joined the troupe a year ago and was insistent on seeking out original Indian English plays rather than taking up foreign ones. This is how we decided to work on Sundar’s script which put together so many difficult concepts in a simple way,” says the Bollywood director, on the dialogue-driven work which uses minimal stagecraft.
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Surprising as it sounds, Goa’s lack of English actors was a setback which the team faced head-on by training fresh faces to adorn the four major characters; not to mention Srinivas himself dressing up as Gandhi and the group’s director Sheeba Shah playing Einstein’s daughter, Lieserl.
The simple outlook
One thing the squad is sure about is that they don’t intend a scandalous peek into the lives of either of these greats. “Our work is not at all a judgment but it focusses on what it takes to be a father, especially when you’re a popular figure. It’s loosely based on fact but doesn’t mean to create new narratives on their lives. Instead, it’s about two forgotten children,” says Sundar, informing that it explores the importance of family and the question of parenting.
They were assured that they had hit the bull’s eye when audience who met them backstage post-show talked little about Gandhi and Einstein but more about their own relationships with their parents or children.
At JTPAC on July 8. From 7 pm.