The Hindu : Kerala News : Spotlight on social issues at drama contest

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 16, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

Spotlight on social issues at drama contest

By Biju Govind

TIRUR, JAN. 15. Satire and social issues were the favourite themes in the drama competitions held as part of the State Schools Youth Festival here today.

The exploitation of the predicament of natural disaster victims by the visual media and discrimination against lower castes were the themes of some of the dramas.

Apart from the 14 participants from the various districts, three others were included for the competitions, after they got approval from the appeals committee.

The media's negative intervention was poignantly portrayed in `Ee Neelakashathinu Thazhe.' Janu, the protagonist, is a victim of a natural calamity. She is being interviewed for the sake of generating a news item.

A glamorous television reporter asks her how she will survive with no relatives. She says she has no option other than to carry on with her life.

The way the woman reporter mixes Malayalam and English offered a mockery of contemporary television journalism.

Casteism

`Khoshayatra, which incorporated characters of the `Mahabharata', sent a strong message against the evils of casteism. The play had to be abruptly stopped because the stipulated time was over.

Some of the other dramas that got applause include `Daridravasi', `Annayude Nombarangal', `Abhinayam' and `Enangal'. The competitions that started around 9 a.m. at the NSS English Medium School at Tirur concluded only late in the night.

Though the plays had philosophical themes, they lacked in spirit and depth. This was because they were scripted by professionals and children were trained to render dialogues in a mechanical way. Another negative aspect was that songs were recorded in some cases.

Many theatre critics were of the opinion that the competitions should have been conducted in the evening so that light effects could be more effective.

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