Fifteen years ago, V Balakrishnan walked onto the stage as Nikor, one of Gowri Ramnarayan’s most prominent characters when Mathemagician was premiered. Now, he has directed the same play with Meera Sitaraman entering the stage as Nikor. “I have had a very intense relationship with the play because when Gowri wrote the Mathemagician, I was the Nikor she had in her mind. So, I have been with her through the genesis of this play. In that sense, I have a very deep association with the character and the story. And even though it has been performed by two other actors after me, Gowri had been asking me about reviving this play. And I wanted to direct it with a different actor, just so that I can also revisit what this play meant for me.”
Mathemagician designed and directed by Bala (as he is fondly called) from Theatre Nisha, begins from blood, while Gowri’s started from love. For Gowri, Mathemagician was always a love story. The pivotal point was the love that Nikor has for his childhood friend Salla, which allows him to finally take revenge, and bring down an entire empire. “Since for Gowri, the important aspect was love, she explored it through a lot of music in the play. But for me, the play was always very dark in terms of reflecting the deepest corners of human psychology, wherein we all love to become predators,” says Bala as he explains, “For me, the concept of powerful and the powerless was predominant. So, this person (Nikor) who is powerless and suffers through so many ignominies in life, later when he becomes powerful, what does that mean to him and how does he use that power? Given the choice between wanting to be a prey or a predator, we always choose to become the predator. So that for me, was the pivotal point.”
Again, while music was an intrinsic part for Gowri, with Bombay Jayashri, Akhila Ramnarayan and different singers who sang for the play at different times; for Bala, when he began exploring the play as a director, live singing didn’t seem a part of it. “It is a big reflection on what I mentioned earlier, that for me, the darkness (of the play) was very important to be prominent,” says Bala, while insisting that he “has not attempted to make this play gory in any way”. “I think the story is so beautifully crafted and written that the words themselves do the job of creating the visuals and the magic of performance. I would say that I have kept this play visceral.”
In fact, the dark looms so large for Bala that when he chose Meera to play Nikor, he briefed her to read the foreword by Mahesh Elkunchwar for Gowri’s Mathemagician. Mahesh writes: “What ethical code can someone like him have, he who has been denied any... Gowri has written a frighteningly cruel play which haunts the reader/spectator by its excruciating beauty.”
“Bala told me, ‘Think of it as: This is the boy who has gone through so much in life, and hasn’t found a way to respond to it, in the way we now do — visiting a therapist, talking to people. So, Nikor has not been able to ‘deal’ with it.’ And this is what led to the development of a fascist. It is a love story in terms of who Nikor is and who he is defined by, but the whole play is about the global action that he undertakes because of that one relationship (his love for Salla, a little girl living in the neighbouring mansion), how that impacts an entire empire. Because of the gargantuan effect of what he does, Bala’s is not about the love Nikor has for the girl, but the consequences of that, which is much larger,” says Meera, who watched the very first show of Mathemagician when Bala played Nikor.
“He (Bala) knows Nikor. So just speaking to him was enough,” Meera says, talking about having a reference point for the character. “I haven’t watched the other two actors who have played Nikor after Bala, but I have seen pictures and it’s interesting that in Mohit Takalkar’s direction, Nikor was played by a girl — Ipshita Chakraborty Singh,” Meera says, adding, “I am terrified! In fact, when Bala told me he wants me to play Nikor, I was like ‘wait, what?’ Of course, there are bound to be comparisons with the original, but it’s been an interesting journey for me, and I am glad to be part of this beautiful story and to play Nikor.”
The play is in English.
Entry free.
Registration is mandatory.
March 30-31, 7 pm.
At Spaces, Besant Nagar.
Email: rupam@newindianexpress.com
X: @rupsjain
