The Madras Players, the oldest English theatre company, now in its 67th year of uninterrupted existence, are excited to bring to the screen, as an actual drama or play performance, as enacted on the stage, our play in film format, ‘Chudamani’.

 

The writer Ms. R.Chudamani (1931-2010) through thought provoking stories written in the late 60s and early 70s, celebrates women, honouring them for their ability to self-determine.  Her stories were written in Tamil and have, a few years ago, been translated by the eminent Jurist Prabha Sridevan in to English. 

 

Her stories are written in a way that establishes individual identity and even while acknowledging a woman’s ability to stand for who she is, it is done with grace, finesse and elan; not once showing a man (mard) as being any less or any more.  Such was her sensitivity and realization that each of us be we man or woman have the ability to celebrate ourselves and our life without necessarily having to diminish the other.

 

P.C.Ramakrishna, a theatre doyen and Nikhila Kesavan an adept playwright have collaborated to convert 8 stories from Chudamani’s work, translated by Prabha Sridevan into a theatrical offering.

 

Without losing the impact of theatre and bringing alive the essence of the writing, the 8 stories have been seamlessly woven together in a play format and shot as a video in 4K HD resolution with 4 cameras for online viewing.

 

We wish to offer this basket of theatrical excellence in film form to different members of society where they can experience human excellence in the comfort of their homes. 

 

The film runs for 2 hours and is infused with appropriate background music and can be seen with or without sub-titles as the audience may choose.

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Briefly, the learnings offered in this film to organisations includes:

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1. Honouring women’s rights and aspirations.

2. Establishing gender equality with poise and magnanimity.

3. Recognising and respecting genuine emotions that surge through a woman.

4. Choices that a woman can make in crafting her life.

5. Dilemmas a woman faces in being a caregiver.

6. The challenges of having to encounter loneliness.

7. The desire to be liberated.

8. A need to be understood.

9. The conflict between conformity and interdependence.

10. The need to assert oneself.

11. The need to be respected.