The epic Ramayana has forever been represented in the form of dramas and plays over a long period of time. This was until the The Sriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra took over. With their show Sri Ram, they will showcase the entire Ramleela in one sitting. Using various art forms like music, drama and dance, this show is all set to happen in the city on November 24 at Chowdiah Memorial Hall.
Shobha Deepak Singh who is the director, producer and head choreographer for this show says, “We were the first people in the country to show the entire Ramleela in just one show.”
This show is unlike any other because it brings together various forms of dance, music and drama. In addition to this, they will also be using animations in certain places when needed. Talking about the story line they will be following, she adds, “It begins when Valmiki first wrote the Ramyana in Sanskrit and ends with the Ramrajyaabhishek.”
The show is the coming together of many Indian classical dance forms. Shobha mentions that during the war scenes, techniques from Kalaripayattu and Chhau were used. In addition, styles like Kathakali, Kathak, Odissi and many dances will be accompanied by classical music — folk and contemporary. “Every two to three minutes, the troupe that consists of over 26 dancers will change costumes. Alongside the show, there will be a presentation explaining the sub-text of what is happening on stage.”
Rajkumar Sharma has been playing the character of Lord Ram for the past 15 years. He says, “I will be doing a lot of Kalaripayattu, Chhau as well as a lot of folk dance. I think the most unique part of this show is that the entire story is showed in one sitting.”
Ravana since forever has been shown to be a negative character. But this show tries to give us different perspective about him. Swapan Mojumdar who plays Ravana in this show says, “Although Ravana will be wearing a Kathakali costume, he will be doing various other dances as well. Ravana has always been deemed to be negative we have shown him in a different light. He is shown to be very confident, intelligent and highly educated.”
After playing two very powerful and confident characters, Madhvi Mohanta who plays Sita says it was quite difficult to get into the shoes of Sita. She adds, “After playing characters like Kaikeyi and Shurpanakha who are very strong, playing Sita who was very soft and polite was difficult. Both characters in the way they walk and talk are very different. What is showed in Ramayana is still very relevant today as I feel that it is only the women even to have to go through agni parikshas just like Sita went through.”
The troupe plans to take the show to the Kumbh Mela in January, to Fiji and the surrounding countries in February.
