The play Bhima by Anitha Santhanam went much beyond the stereotyped food-loving image of the second Pandava. By Jigyasu Joshi
Bhima, the Pandava, while traversing a dense forest, observes an elephant during its peregrinations. He watches in horrified fascination as a monstrous snake attempts to swallow the elephant from the rear. As the animal fights for survival, it is attacked frontally by a lion. Thus assailed, the elephant succumbs to the two-pronged attack. This episode is both the take-off point and the leitmotif in Bhima, a play presented by Anitha Santhanam. As the tale progresses, you realise that the metaphor works remarkably well in conveying Bhima’s inner turmoil when pulled simultaneously in opposing directions by conflicting emotions of desire and rage, triggering a tussle between what he wants to do and what he ought to do.
The often misunderstood Bhima has been explored in various dimensions, particularly in relation to contemporary life. Anitha pointed out, “His hunger fed by everyone around him, his vulnerabilities, the women in his life, these are some important explorations in the piece.” A remake of award-winning theatre artiste, Vivek Vijayakumaran’s Bhima, directed by Anitha Santhanam, was presented at the ongoing 12th META Awards. The play explores the space between where we come from and where we are, and how love can both brighten and weigh us down. “The production is an experiment about how an urban, contemporary actor can train in a classical form and thus evolve a language of expression that, at the same time, speaks to an urban audience,” she added.
Bhima — the one who possesses the strength of ten thousand elephants. Stereotyped as a food-loving giant, good-natured except when provoked, the second of the Pandava brothers is here viewed in contexts beyond those of an obedient son and dutiful brother. In a nuanced interpretation that resounds with empathy, the actor reveals a Bhima whose bouts of introspection undermine his physical might.
Anitha decided to come up with a new version of it when she watched the earlier version of Bhima. “I offered Vivek my feedback on the show. He then invited me on board as the director.” She added that the current show is a completely different version of the original.
One of the high points of the production is the live musical score by theatre artiste, Sachin Gurjale. The music enhances the act of the performer. “The objective is to retain the essence of Kutiyattam, especially its emotional depth and intensity, in the production,” said Anitha. The production emerged as a completely collaborative process. “In this new version we went through all the reading material and shared what we each wanted to explore through the piece. Then in our residency in Irinjalakuda we facilitated the dramatic improve process to find new material and text. And then created a new structure,” added the director.
“A play can be experienced emotionally as well as through the body,” said the director of the play. And despite a number of issues like masculinity and modernity being addressed, there was no such message that she wanted to convey through the entire play. “The good thing about a play is that the message is taken by different people differently. For instance, some people resonate with a certain aspect of Bhima while the others might gel with something else. The point of the matter is that even till date, people come face to face with what they feel like through Bhima,” shared Anitha.