Award-winning director brings forgotten play to big screen

CHENNAI: It’s a glorious but forgotten chapter in history. In 1948, a women’s commune at Lakkidi village near Palakkad in Kerala staged a play ‘Thozhil Kendrathilekku’ (Workplace Ahoy!) which was a metaphor for their freedom. The cast was a group of namboodiri brahmin women who had challenged the decadent patriarchal system and declared their independence.
But their radical endeavour did not last long and the play was soon forgotten. Award-winning director M G Sasi revived the play with his documentary film framed against the backdrop of movements for political and social liberation. The documentary was screened at IIT-Madras on Sunday and will be showed at the University of Madras on Monday.
“It was the beginning of a transformation. While the movement saw the beginning of feminist ideology in Kerala, its greatest achievement was the impact it had on future generations. Old social norms were now subject to questioning and stereotypes meant to be broken,” said Sasi.
“Though the commune as an organized movement faded, it sparked discussions and sensitised people in issues relating to gender.”
Asked about his foray from theatre to cinema, he said, “In most cases, translating a play into a film kills its soul, but I am comfortable with expressing the language of play through films. Even in cinema, people try to draw boundaries between documentary and feature films but a documentary is as effective as a full length film.”
Highlighting the role of the creative medium of theatre in Kerala, he said, theatrical renaissance began in Kerala as early as 1920 and aimed at social reformation by removing the ills within the brahmanical society. Post independence, it was a period of cultural transformation and students used literature and theatre to disseminate the ideas of feminism, dalit emancipation and an egalitarian society.
He also elaborated on themes which redefine societal perspectives and bring to fore existential conflicts and angst of those who refuse to take the beaten path.