How Bombay Gnanam broke the glass ceiling by launching an all-woman theatre group
n the late 1980s, when theatre groups in the country were mostly led by men, Bombay Gnanam broke the glass ceiling to lead an allwoman theatre group. She launched the Mahalakshmi Ladies Drama Group (MLDG), which redefined Tamil theatre. Its plays, especially on social themes, received an overwhelming response from the audience.
In 2014, during the 25th anniversary of MLDG, Gnanam got to know about the remarkable life story of Bodhendral, a 17th century saint, during a discourse by Hariji, son and disciple of Krishna Premi Swamigal. This led her to explore religious themes. Thus began her tryst with plays on saints and gurus.
Gnanam feels that every great spiritual personality in India represents high values that are universal and beyond one’s faith. “The younger generation asks questions and that is most welcome as many of these saints also asked questions and obtained clear answers on their journey,” she says.
IAuthentic portrayal
Thorough research is Gnanam’s greatest strength. She consults multiple sources to make the characters authentic.
“For the play Bhaja Govindam, which depicts the life of Adi Shankaracharya, we referred books written by Ra Ganapathy and Nochur Swami. We also regularly seek the guidance of learned scholars,” says the veteran actordirector.
Supporting weavers and artisans across India is also one of Gnanam’s missions. Nativity in terms of costumes, set design and music is given prominence in her plays. For instance, in Shirdi Sai Baba every piece of jewellery worn by the Marathi women characters such as the nath, haar and chinchpeti were sourced directly from Maharashtra. For Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Gnanam procured Bengal cotton sarees. For recreating Kolkata’s famous Dakshineshwar Kali temple on stage, Gnanam and her team of set designers visited the temple . Music is an integral part of her presentation and Gnanam and her music team leave no stone unturned to make it a worthwhile experience for the audience. For Bhakta Jayadevar, the play’s music composers faithfully reproduced the Gita Govinda, composed specifically for the worship of Jagannatha at the Puri temple, by using appropriate instrumental interludes.
When asked about the challenges she faced as a woman in the maledominated field, she explains that her cast comprises women of all ages and from different walks of life. Also, not all of them come from a theatre background but are trained rigorously by Gnanam. Auditions take place to select those who express their interest to join the troupe. For all her dramas, Gnanam uses audio tracks where the dialogue, music and background sound are prerecorded. Several rounds of rehearsals take place where the cast is taught to mime to the audio recordings. “In a live play when the actors deliver dialogue, the control rests with them. However, miming to prerecorded audio tracks can go wrong easily and that is why I ask my cast to repeatedly listen to their portion until they perfect the pauses.”
Being a veteran theatre artiste, Gnanam’s thoughts on the issues ailing Tamil theatre today are extremely relevant. “There are many important elements such as Story selection, screenplay, dialogue delivery and scene settings make a play successful. However, many groups face financial constraints due to lack of funding and sponsorship. Sabhas in the city need to provide more support to theatre groups,” she feels.
Audiences for theatre have declined sharply in the last two decades due to the advent of television and OTT platforms. “It is hard to generate enough revenue to cover even the production costs as the constraints are plenty. Audiences do not patronise live art due to easy availability of content on their mobile phones. Shows that are held on weekdays are poorly attended,” says Gnanam.
Despite the challenges,
Gnanam’s plays draw a big crowd, including youngsters. She also travels with her troupe to small towns and villages across India to reach out to people who generally do not have access to theatre. Her plays are never ticketed. At the end of each performance, donation boxes are brought by volunteers for the audience to contribute. Thus, Gnanam funds her projects through sponsorship and voluntary donations. What if she runs out of funds some day? “The show will still go on,” she smiles.