Sharanya Ramprakash crushes patriarchy as she delicately documents the lives of company theatre’s nayakis
The actor-director’s latest project digs out the marginalised narratives of yesteryears’ female artists who played heroines, vamps and comedians in Kannada theatre
By Reema Gowalla
Today, everybody loves to watch a strong female character on screen or stage. She breaks patriarchy. She inspires. However, it’s rare to have proof that the sentiment toward women in the entertainment industry has always been the same. Research lays bare the fact that women actors were paid less and had far fewer dialogues than their male counterparts. Ironically again we do cherish the beauty and style of some of the bygone era’s leading ladies, but have conveniently forgotten the legacy of those who played comedians, dancers and other roles. There is hardly any written documentation of the contribution they made to film and theatre over decades, and more importantly the challenges they faced in their personal lives fighting the storm of misogyny and chauvinism.
In a one-of-its-kind arts project, titled the ‘Company of Nayakis’ and supported by the India Foundation for the Arts (IFA’s) Arts Research Grant 20–21, Bengaluru-based theatreperson Sharanya Ramprakash questions the invisibility of these women, as she exhumes the unresearched, marginalised narratives of female actors of Karnataka’s company theatre, from the early 1940s to present day.
Dharwad (Bombay), Mysore (the Maharaja’s) and Bangalore (pete) were the company theatre’s three prominent linguistic centres, with Subbiah Naidu, Gubbi Veeranna, Shree Stree Nataka Mandali, Hiranniah Mitra Nataka Mandali and Shree Chamundeshwari Natya Sagha among the renowned theatres set up in Mysore, Tumkur and Bangalore around that time.
“A quick flashback will tell you that the history of Kannada theatre is not bereft of progressive, radical plays. Be it Karki Venkataramana Shastri Suri’s ‘Iggappa Hegade Vivaha Prahasana Athava Kanyavikrayada Parinamavu’ or Girish Karnad’s ‘Nagamandala’, women and female bodies are central to Kannada’s cultural imagination and we have used female sexuality to define its cultural agency. The position of women in society has been discussed in scripts time and again. Sadly though, patriarchy in real-life is so deep-rooted that we have failed to acknowledge and register the sacrifices made by the women who were the torchbearers of the change in attitude toward the ‘weaker sex’ we see in the arts and entertainment world today. It’s only when we come across a piece of obituary in the newspapers that we realise that there lived a woman who was once considered ahead of her time, or otherwise. The ‘Company of Nayakis’ is an attempt to shed light on the lives of such forgotten female artists,” says Sharanya, who is assisted by another theatreperson Surabhi Vasisht.
It’s a three-pronged research project that’ll include audio-visual documentaries; photo essays and articles; and a play script. “I was thrilled at the response I received from all quarters when I posted a one-minute video clip from my interview with the 72-year-old Sathyavati on social media recently. I have been chasing this idea for the past five years to trace and unearth stories, mutinies and subversions of the Karnataka company theatre’s women who played heroines, vamps and comedians back then. It’s fulfilling to see that like me many others are also waiting to hear their stories,” she elaborates. This endeavour attempts to examine the ways in which these women defined and defied the notions of female respectability and vulgarity through their performances and selfhood.
A noted theatre actor-director herself, Sharanya is well-known for her works that include ‘Akshayambara’ and ‘Nava’. In her new project though, she is making a keen observation of the curious personal journeys of those intrepid female artists whom she considers her ancestors in the theatre; the women on whose shoulders her work stands.
Sharanya fiercely probes the hypocrisy, the binary of good and bad when it comes to the female body and sexuality; the respectable and the dishonourable. Why is it that on stage we always want women to play the ideal housewife or daughter-in-law, but off-stage she is a victim of discrimination, bigotry and violence, she asks.
“One of the biggest anxieties with respect to women’s entry to the theatre was the moral corruption everyone feared it would cause. Although, it still remains a mystery whose moral corruption was at stake! Nevertheless, women did make their way to the stage, mostly due to financial compulsion rather than to gain fame or social justice,” says Sharanya, adding, “During the 1930s, 40s and 50s, a period that was also regarded as the golden age of company theatre, modern dramas advocated equality and freedom for women. In reality, however, female bodies were dealt with a potent mix of desire, anxiety and violence.”
Quoting 58-year-old Helen Hubballi — who was once a star actor in North Karnataka theatre and was known for her riddled dialogues and innuendo comedy — Sharanya says, “There was no such thing as marriage for a female actor in the company. He can have children with you, live with you, stay or leave as he pleases. It made no difference. So, when female artists said they were married, they meant that they were a ‘keep’.”
Not for the love of art but to cope with financial crisis, most of these women entered the company. Sathyavati, who first worked with Gubbi Company and later with Subbaiah Naidu’s theatre, used to earn ₹10 a month in her early days, while Helen’s mother Theresamma, now 85, had joined the company theatre so that she could afford three meals a day.
There are many such untold personal stories that have already faded away. The present generation of theatre actors do not even have a clue of who these people are and what they did in their prime. “It’s a pity that we hardly know anything about them. Through this initiative, I am hoping to create an archive of both text-based and audio-visual accounts. At least, those interested will have something to refer to 20 years from now,” she explains.
In the course of her research, Sharanya has also spent time with veteran actor Rameshwari Verma and writer-journalist-critic Preeti Nagraj, among others. No doubt, the pandemic has slowed down the execution of the project, but she is making a sincere effort to speak with as many female artists as possible maintaining the Covid-19 restrictions.
As women actors who are inquisitive about their ancestry, Sharanya and Surabhi have been visiting the homes of these nayakis from the bygone era, indulging in a conversation with them for long hours, delicately documenting their thoughts and inhibitions, taking a trip down memory lane with them and pausing to talk about the prejudices they were subjected to and the hardships they suffered in their long journey. Although now a shadow of their former self, these women still exude strength and courage when they talk about what it meant to be famous in a world of male dominance, where female voices were deliberately hushed.
