Raktharakshass – Stage Drama By Kalanilayam Dramavision

Posted by aashiks in Cultural, Entertainment, Events, Theaters | 2 comments

I am back after watching the stage drama “Raktharakshass” by Kalanilayam Dramavision at Manjalikkulam ground ( SMV school ground ). Me and friends were planning to watch “Clash of the Titans 3D” but were disappaointed when we got there and a guy announced that there would be no show. So we thought of checking this out. When we got there we saw a large area closed off and canopied, like a hall inside a compound. There were 3 kinds of tickets – 50 Rs ticket at the back of the “hall”, 70 Rs in the middle and 100 Rs for the front seats. If you need a seat close to the centre of the stage in the 100Rs area, you have to reserve in advance. The 100Rs advanced reservation ticket is recommended. I will explain

This is one of the best entertainment I have had in recent times. Not even Avatar impressed me this much. The drama was written and was a hit screening in Kerala more than 25 years ago. The story/screenplay is by the illustrious Jagathy N K Achari, whom people in my generation dont recognize much – we know his son of course and its him , Jagathy Sreekumar who has taken the pains along with many others to bring the drama troop back.

The story of the drama is simple enough, and the witty double entendres abound. The story follows a “horror” theme with witty scenes involving not so important characters, and feels like an old malayalam movie.  The scope for visuals are huge and they have made use of it very well. The stage is HUGE, and is a lot “deeper” than usual drama stages – and for good reason.The backdrops change constantly, and the actors themselves change costumes quiet often. We dont feel the lag in between the scene changes and the costume changes. The  stage goes dim for about 30 secs and then we see a completely different scenery, even furniture.  Its just like a movie, no wait – its much more rich because the characters are on stage, live and performing far far better than in any recent malayalam movie i have seen. There are scenes where an aeroplane and cars are on stage and a song like in a movie . We had heard all of this but went in without much expectation – and were blown away. The lighting is very intelligent and well thought out and the stage props are complicated. But the whole thing was really really well executed. Hats off to the stage crew. The sound system is also up to standard – at one point we all turned our heads when we heard a dog barking, but was surprised because of course, it was the sound system doing its duty.

The hall is simply an enclosed, canopied space with chairs and the three areas clearly marked. The crowd is managed by efficient security guys who make sure that everyone puts there mobiles in silent mode and are constantly on the lookout for violaters. No audio/video recording is permitted and if you are one of the sadass booers who howl at anything ( even if its good ) you will be thrown out . The amenities are bare minimum , toilets are provided which appear to be cleaned regularly and full of bleaching powder. There is a food counter that sells some “Lays” like thing, along with the usual fruity/maa/appy/mineral water and icecreams.

They are going to be a permanent setup with different dramas showing a every couple of weeks  from what i hear. The show times are 6:30 pm and 9:30pm Monday to Friday and at 3pm, 6:30 pm  and 9:30pm on Saturday and Sunday. Reservations start at 10 am. The hall was full when we went in today.

This is something you don’t want to miss – the novelty , sheer awesomeness of the visuals and the ulsavapparambu effect were worth the RS100 we paid to get in.

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