About Ram - Puppetry By Kat Katha Production: Events in Hyderabad

REVIEW FOR ABOUT RAM - PUPPETRY...

Lord Rama was a human being, but lived like God Himself would. Here's the key theme enacted by puppets and actors that have already enthralled world audiences.

As part of the annual Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Festival from 29th October to 8th November, the 3rd day of the festival will feature a puppetry performance "About Ram" by Kat-Katha Production from New Delhi, at the Taramati Baradari outdoor auditorium. The production has been directed by Anurupa Roy.

'About Ram' looks at Ram as a human being, tormented by his forced separation from his wife Sita. The performance is about Ram, the prince who is sent on a long journey far away from his home when he is exiled by his father along with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman. Sita is kidnapped by Ravan the king of Lanka and kept prisoner. As Ram sits by the ocean looking at Lanka across its vastness his life flashes by, he feels powerless and dejected as he longs to fly across the ocean to his beloved Sita.

The puppeteers help him by projecting his desires into the mask of the super hero Hanuman which attaches itself to Ram's face, at once turning him into a super-powerful simian who leaps across the ocean and reaches Sita. In this journey and the bloody war that follows with Ravan, Ram becomes a king, forced to choose between the duty of the throne and the love of his wife. He rules alone for the next 10,000 years.

Puppets, actors, animation, masks, Chauu dancers and projections on stage are all used in this production. The show has already been performed at international theatre festivals at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Austria, Pakistan and other places.

The festival is a tribute to the Hindustani theatre personality, the late Qadir Ali Baig. It forms a part of the Foundation's initiative to revive theatre in town, and was designed by Mohammad Ali Baig, son of Qadir Ali Baig.

Entry is by tickets of Rs. 1,000, Rs. 500 & Rs. 100 per head for each play, available at A A Hussain (Abids), Music World (Rd. 1 B'Hills), Walden (Begumpet), Ofen (Rd. 10 B'Hills), Sangeet Sagar (Paradise Circle), Shoe World (Pathargatti). Please contact theatrefoundation[at]cineworksindia[dot]com.