The Taj Mahal topic is one that's been kind of beaten to death, at least in the Indian/Tamil drama and film world. The romanticism associated with the whole episode of Shah Jahan, the 17th century Moghul Emperor, building the (at that time) massive Taj Mahal in rememberance of his favourite wife, Mumtaj, is well-known and epitomised for undying love. Indian pop culture makes frequent reference to the Taj Mahal symbolism.
So when I heard that the Ravindran Drama Group (RDG) was staging its "magnus opus" (nowadays everyone's doing their MAGNUS OPUS!) entitled Taj Mahal, I heaved a sigh of boredom and was skeptical at what more could be done with that theme. For the sake of my own Mumtaj-equivalent, I went to see it at the Drama Centre yesterday.
I was quite pleasantly surprised at the great trouble RDG went to dramatise the events that led to the creation of the Taj Mahal. It was RDG's interpretation with original songs, dance choregraphy and a script that was presumably drafted from scratch, the sources being history books. The scriptwriter, whose previous works I'm familiar, must indeed be lauded for coming up with a script that stayed true to the Muslim social fabric of the Mughal times (but not neccessarily mentioning all the facts, some of which aren't too pretty). But I thought the script could've been more polished - there could have been references peppered throughout the play that Shah Jahan had a penchance for building beautiful structures. The theme of love could have also been played around with more, rather than confining it to the Shah Jahan-Mumtaj relationship.
The actors did a tremendous job. The lead pair was convincing enough, and the rest of the cast was sufficient to keep the production together.
However, for an RDG production, it can be considered a relatively "safe" production. No trademark shockers, no throught-provoking sentiments, no genre-bending. I guess that was the point of this magnus opus - a simple romantic story, captured in song and dance. But for some audience, this could've been off-putting, especially the song bits - there is only so long can you watch two people frolicking in a bedroom scene with slow music in the background.
But the comedy sequences, inspired from the Tamil film genre, may have helped to sustain attention to an extent.
In all, the production was a representation of the effort and hardwork that went into making the real Taj Mahal, but which may not have been reflective of RDG's trademark boldness.
So when I heard that the Ravindran Drama Group (RDG) was staging its "magnus opus" (nowadays everyone's doing their MAGNUS OPUS!) entitled Taj Mahal, I heaved a sigh of boredom and was skeptical at what more could be done with that theme. For the sake of my own Mumtaj-equivalent, I went to see it at the Drama Centre yesterday.
I was quite pleasantly surprised at the great trouble RDG went to dramatise the events that led to the creation of the Taj Mahal. It was RDG's interpretation with original songs, dance choregraphy and a script that was presumably drafted from scratch, the sources being history books. The scriptwriter, whose previous works I'm familiar, must indeed be lauded for coming up with a script that stayed true to the Muslim social fabric of the Mughal times (but not neccessarily mentioning all the facts, some of which aren't too pretty). But I thought the script could've been more polished - there could have been references peppered throughout the play that Shah Jahan had a penchance for building beautiful structures. The theme of love could have also been played around with more, rather than confining it to the Shah Jahan-Mumtaj relationship.
The actors did a tremendous job. The lead pair was convincing enough, and the rest of the cast was sufficient to keep the production together.
However, for an RDG production, it can be considered a relatively "safe" production. No trademark shockers, no throught-provoking sentiments, no genre-bending. I guess that was the point of this magnus opus - a simple romantic story, captured in song and dance. But for some audience, this could've been off-putting, especially the song bits - there is only so long can you watch two people frolicking in a bedroom scene with slow music in the background.
But the comedy sequences, inspired from the Tamil film genre, may have helped to sustain attention to an extent.
In all, the production was a representation of the effort and hardwork that went into making the real Taj Mahal, but which may not have been reflective of RDG's trademark boldness.
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