Close on the heels of , ‘Nidarsanam’, Mali’s Stage has come up with a new one play, ‘Sammadham,’ scripted by K.S.N. Sundar.
If religious conversion was the premise of the previous production, ‘Sammadham,’ was on religious tolerance. Credit for the thought-provoking dialogue goes to Sundar too. Kudanthai Mali as the director has ably handled the complexities of Sundar’s characters. The play was held at the MFAC Auditorium, Chennai, recently.
The ubiquitous Nawab Govindarajan of Mali’s Stage was missing that evening. He had been Mali’s shadow for almost 50 years, doing all kinds of work from ushering in special guests to ringing the first bell. An announcement informed that he had passed away recently and that ‘Sammadham’ was dedicated to his memory. It was moving to see his photo hung up on the stage.
‘Sammadham’s’ storyline reveals the prejudices people have. A widower Aravamudha Iyengar (Muthukumaran) lives with his son, Varadarajan (Bhaskar) and daughter-in-law Vaidehi (Sowmya Ramnarayan). It has always been a love-hate relationship between the father and son.
The course of the play takes a turn, when Varadarajan receives a mysterious phone call. The caller is Ayan Ali Khan (Balaji Desikan), who asks Varadarajan to meet him at the airport.
The suspense is not sustained for long as they meet and Khan divulges a secret: The truth behind their births, which happened 45 years ago at the same hospital.
A flashback unravels the mystery. Rahamathullah Rahamath (Narasimha Bharathi), Ayan’s father, confesses to committing a crime. Believing his son to be dead, he bribed the hospital officials to switch babies. Later, he is shocked to know that his child is alive and growing up as Aravamudha Iyengar’s son.
Varadarajan’s maternal uncle Narasimhan reveals this truth to the entire household. He not only disowns his nephew but also coaxes Vaidehi to walk away from the marriage, which she refuses to do.
Perturbed by the sequence of events, Varadarajan goes through the old records maintained by his father and unearths medical reports that include a DNA test done on him. He is astonished to discover that he is not the biological son of Aravamudhan.
While Ayan’s mother Anandhi urges Varadarajan to return home with her, Aravamudhan asks Ayan to stay with his family.
The climax is emotional, the differences dissolve and it all ends well.
While, Muthukumaran performed impressively, , Bhaskar and Balaji Narasimhan also did a splendid job. Sowmya, ‘Chandigarh’ Ramani, Narasimha Bharathi and T.S. Anandhi lifted the play with their acting. Kalaivanar Kicha’s background score was apt.
Published - March 03, 2016 04:41 pm IST
