Kochi: A controversy has erupted in the world of theatre arts in the country after the National School of Drama (NSD) issued a notice seeking clarification from a director for including an act of nudity in his play staged at one of the prestigious festivals in Pondicherry recently.
The Malayalam play ‘Bhaskara Pattelarum Thommiyude Jeevithavum’ (Bhaskara Pattelar and Life of Thommy) staged February 12 at the ‘Bharat Rang Mahotsav-International Theatre Festival of India 2020’, in Pondicherry is directed by Suveeran, a best feature film National Award winner for ‘Byari’ (2011).
In a letter seeking clarification from Suveeran, the NSD said some who saw the play at the festival had ‘huge objection’ to the act of nudity in the play.
The play was presented before the audience comprising the chairperson of the NSD society and many other dignitaries, the letter said. The NSD stated that as per law, nudity and obscenity is banned in public performances.
Responding to the allegation, Suveeran said he, as a director, personally believed that if nudity can enhance the total feel of the play it can even be used in public staging.
“How can one say that the rules one should observe in public places are applicable in art as well? It is something a director and artist like me can never comprehend. The play was staged in a closed place before a group of invited guests. Is the place akin to a public place,” Suveeran asked.
The NSD said the play was chosen for the festival after a two-tier selection process out of hundreds of applicants and claimed there was no scene of the nudity in the DVD of the play submitted to it by Suveeran.
“In view of this, it is clear a breach of agreement by including an act of nudity in the play held on 12th February at Pondicherry without prior information and approval of NSD authority,” the letter further stated.
Suveeran said the DVD submitted to the NSD was for quality analysis. The director asserted he has never ever heard of ‘censorship’ in plays.
“The organic nature of plays gives the director freedom to intervene and improve the performance in each ensuing stage,” Suveeran said in his response to the letter sent by NSD.
“The protagonist of the play I directed is a slave who is almost always naked in the play. He is clad in a torn dhoti which he uses to cover his nudity. At times the torn cloth slips from his hands and exposes his nudity for a while. This culminates in the final scene in which he runs away totally naked,” Suveeran said in his response to NSD’s charge.
Writer Paul Zacharia and former Kerala Culture Minister MA Baby came out in support of Suveeran. “By including the act of nudity of the character ‘Thommy’ in the play, the director could do justice to the character in my novella,” Zacharia stated.
Baby slammed the NSD for making unnecessary controversy over the issue. He said the current authorities of NSD lacked sense of Indian culture.
“The deficit of culture is what gets reflected in this kind of responses from National School of Drama. I consider such responses obscene,” Baby said.
Agencies