The
Story of our Hosabelaku
For the
first time in the history of Kannada theatre, a theatre
presentation conceptualized with reference to a novel and a movie.
We at Fourth Corner Productions want to make this effort to create
new audiences for Kannada Theater.
Vani, who
happens to be one of the most acclaimed feminist writers of her
time, originally wrote the story. Many of her novels have been
made into huge banner productions like Yeradu Kanasu,
Shubhamangala, Avala Bhagya etc. Hosabelaku was first printed in
1969 and was converted into the huge silver screen hit starring
Dr. Rajkumar & Saritha in 1982. The movie was adapted by the
director duo Dorai and Bhagwan, who made this female-oriented
story into a hero-oriented movie, suiting the image of Dr.
Rajkumar at that time.
We had intensive discussions after watching the movie and reading
the novel before arriving at a stage version of these two
masterpieces. This has helped us achieve a balance between what
happens in the movie and what is in the novel. We are all set to
entertain with this new experiment of ours. Chandan Shankar and
our director are working together on the script, which is
contemporary and modern.
Directors Note
What I have noted largely in the past five years is that there is
a fixed set of audiences for both Kannada & English theatre
productions. Wherever there is a production we have the same set
of audiences watching the play at different venues and more than
70% of the audience is repeated. This is not an encouraging
development for healthy theatre, as we are not adding new
audiences. This also stands out as the main difference between
theatre in Bangalore and in other theatre-rich cities. As an old
school theatre enthusiast, just mentioning or discussing this
point was not enough for me. I felt a need and desire to do
something about bringing back the masses into theatre. I was once
advised by an avid theater lover who quoted "other large
theatre groups are staging the same old Shakespeare, Karnad,
Karanth and the likes. Why cant anyone or even you for that matter
bring in a change??" My discussions with various theatre groups
and eminent personalities led me to figure out a way for myself.
My friends and volunteers got together to bring out the initial
draft of the story. This was followed by lengthy discussions to
come out with a storyline, which would not compromise what was
shown in the movie or what was written in the book. I am sure that
the final product is going to concentrate on entertainment and on
creating new audiences for Kannada theatre.
P D Sathish
Chandra
