Vaasthu Vasu - A Tamil Drama By United Visuals, Chennai: Events in Hyderabad

REVIEW FOR VAASTHU VASU - A...

As part of its 9-day 40th Annual Cultural Festival of Music, Dance & Drama at the Keyes High School campus from 23rd November to 1st December, Kalasagaram is organising concerts by eminent musicians such as saxophonist Dr. Kadri Gopalnath, vocalists Sudha Raghunathan, the Priya Sisters, Trichur V Ramachandran and T V Sankaranarayanan, and flautist Dr. N Ramani, and two Tamil dramas Vaasthu Vasu and Plastic Kadavul by United Visuals from Chennai.

Today, the penultimate day, United Visuals from Chennai will be presenting a comedy play in Tamil called Vaastu Vasu. The play is written by C V Chandramohan and directed by T V Varadharajen. Varadharajen plays the central character of Vasu, Binny Ramachandran is Vasu's father Sadasivam, and Usha is Vasu's wife Mahalakshmi.

Vaasthu Vasu, as the title indicates, takes a satirical look at blind beliefs, whether in the principles of Vaasthu or in numerology, and advocates a rational approach. A middle-aged protagonist Vasu, an ardent believer of Vaasthu, is inordinately proud of the house he has built in strict accordance with its guidelines. His willingness to implement every new suggestion of its practitioners is watched critically by his sensible father Sadasivam, and equally sensible but loyal wife Mahalakshmi.

When Vasu's uncle comes with a statue of the smiling Buddha and tells him follow certain Chinese beliefs that will bring him luck and ensure that his only sister who is working abroad gets married soon, Vasu gets deeper into superstition. Soon, events in his office take an unwelcome turn and things begin to go downhill rapidly. Vasu panics and desperately tries to fix matters in the only way he knows.

United Visuals was started in 1994, by T V Varadharajen, in Chennai. Varadharajen has about 28 years' experience as a stage artist. He served as TV newsreader at the Madras Doordarshan, from 1978, and has acted in many stage plays and TV serials, making him one of Tamil Nadu's top actors. He is specially known for his portrayal as a middle class man, and has acted in more than 25 serials, such as Kaadal Pagadai (submissive husband), Pennin Kathai (village school teacher), Premi (retired magistrate) and Annamalai (psychiatrist). He has also produced 12 plays in the last 13 years.

Kalasagaram is a South-Indian cultural association situated in the East Nehru Nagar of East Marredpally, and has been organising Carnatic music concerts for the last 40 years. The concerts are usually held in the Keyes High School campus at the open-air theater. The singers are generally from outside Hyderabad, usually amateurs and upcoming artistes, and quite competent. Kalasagaram also occasionally stages South-Indian classical dances and Tamil plays.

The entry is by invitations for members, and by season passes of Rs. 400, Rs. 300 & Rs. 200 per head and daily passes of Rs. 100, Rs. 50 and Rs. 25 per head for others. Please contact V Rajagopal, General Secretary of Kalasagaram, at 2773-1775 for further details.