Odakalu Bimba

Last updated

Odakalu Bimba
Written by Girish Karnad
CharactersManjula Nayak (Kannada and Hindi),
Manjula Sharma (Shabana Azmi version)
Date premiered2005
Place premieredRangashankara, Bangalore
Original language Kannada
SettingBangalore

Odakalu Bimba is a Kannada monodrama by Indian playwright and author Girish Karnad. It was written in 2005 and marked Karnad's return to direction after a period of thirty years. He directed the play with KM Chaitanya [1] [2]

It was translated and titled Bikhre Bimb in Hindi and A Heap of Broken Images in English. It starred Arundhati Nag as Manjula Nayak and her doppelgänger in the Kannada and Hindi versions while Arundhati Raja played the same role in the English version. [1] [3]

The plot revolves around the protagonist Manjula Nayak who is an unsuccessful writer in Kannada and finds success with her novel written in English. Her doppelgänger later questions her about her choice to write in English rather than in her own language and the betrayal of her own language. [4] [5]

The play earned itself positive reviews which subsequently resulted in a new production of it in English which was directed by Alyque Padamsee and featured Shabana Azmi playing the lead role of Manjula Sharma, a Hindi writer who is unsuccessful. [6] [7] [8]

The play won the awards for Best Playwright and Best Director while Nag won the Best Actress award for her role at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards in 2008. [9] [10]

Karnad got the idea to write the play when he attended a talk in Bangalore by Shashi Deshpande, daughter of Kannada writer Shriranga, on Indian writers who wrote in English not being treated on par with English writers of foreign origin. [6] [11]

The play was originally performed at Bangalore. The Kannada version of the play were performed all across Karnataka, while the Hindi version was performed across different cities in India including Delhi, Chennai, Chandigarh and Thiruvananthapuram. [9] [12] The English version featuring Azmi was performed in the United States where it was received positively. [13] [14] [15]

The play was produced by and originally performed at Ranga Shankara, Bangalore which was built in honour of Nag's late husband Shankar Nag. [16] [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shabana Azmi</span> Indian actress (born 1950)

Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Her career in the Hindi film industry has spanned over 160 films, mostly within independent and neorealist parallel cinema, though her work extended to mainstream films as well as a number of international projects. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several genres. She has won a record five National Film Awards for Best Actress, in addition to six Filmfare Awards and several international accolades. The Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri in 1998 and the Padma Bhushan in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girish Karnad</span> Indian playwright, actor, director, and writer

Girish Karnad was an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi films. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the coming of age of modern Indian playwriting in Kannada, just as Badal Sarkar did in Bengali, Vijay Tendulkar in Marathi, and Mohan Rakesh in Hindi. He was a recipient of the 1998 Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honour conferred in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vishnuvardhan (actor)</span> Indian actor (1950–2009)

Sampath Kumar, known by his stage name Vishnuvardhan, was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Kannada cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam language films. Vishnuvardhan has a prolific career spanning over four decades, during which he has acted in more than 220 films. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, and holds the status of a matinée idol amongst the Kannada diaspora. He is popularly called as Sahasa Simha, Dada and The Angry Young Man of Kannada Cinema. Vishnuvardhan's contributions to Kannada cinema have been praised by his contemporaries in the Indian film industry. The Government of Karnataka honoured him with the Rajyothsava Prashasthi in 1990 and the Dr. Rajkumar Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 for his contributions to Kannada cinema. He was called The Phoenix of Indian Cinema. In 2008, a poll conducted by CNN-IBN listed Vishnuvardhan as the most popular star in the Kannada film industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B. V. Karanth</span> Indian filmmaker, theatre personality

Babukodi Venkataramana Karanth widely known as B. V. Karanth was an Indian film director, playwright, actor, screenwriter, composer, and dramatist known for his works in the Kannada theatre, Kannada cinema, and Hindi cinema. One of the pioneers of the Parallel Cinema, Karanth was an alumnus of the National School of Drama (1962) and later, its Director. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1976), six National Film Awards, and the civilian honor Padma Shri for his contributions towards the field of art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shankar Nag</span> Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer

Shankar Nagarakatte was an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work in Kannada-language films and television. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, Nag is often referred to as Karate King. He directed the teleserial Malgudi Days, based on novelist R. K. Narayan's short stories and acted in some episodes as well. He won two National Film Awards, four Karnataka State Film Awards and two Filmfare Award South.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anant Nag</span> Indian actor, politician (born 1948)

Anant Nagarkatte is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 200 Kannada films as well as Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and English films. He has featured in theatre plays, parallel cinema and television shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alyque Padamsee</span> Indian actor

Alyque Padamsee was an Indian theatre personality and ad film maker. He played Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the 1982 British period film Gandhi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arundathi Nag</span> Indian actress, theatre personality

Arundhati Nag is an Indian actress. She has been involved with multilingual Theatre in India, for over 25 years, first in Mumbai where she got involved with Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), and did various productions in Gujarati, Marathi, and Hindi theatre, and then in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and English, in Bangalore.

<i>Swami</i> (1977 film) 1977 Indian film

Swami is a 1977 Hindi Indian romance drama film directed by Basu Chatterjee and produced by Jaya Chakravarty. The film stars Shabana Azmi, Vikram, Girish Karnad and Utpal Dutt. Hema Malini and Dharmendra made guest appearances together in the film. The film's music is by Rajesh Roshan. The film was shot in location in Dahisar, Mumbai and the Dahisar River Banks.

<i>Utsav</i> 1984 Indian film

Utsav is a 1984 Hindi erotic drama film, produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by Girish Karnad. The film is based on play Mrichakatika by Śūdraka. It was filmed in Hindi and English simultaneously, the post-production work of latter version was done in London.

<i>Nishant</i> (film) 1975 Indian film

Nishant is a 1975 Hindi drama film directed by Shyam Benegal, based on an original screenplay by noted playwright Vijay Tendulkar, with dialogues by Satyadev Dubey.

K. M. Chaitanya is a film director, documentary maker and theater person. His first feature film Aa dinagalu in Kannada, won several awards including the Filmfare Awards South for Best Director and Best Feature Film in 2007. Chaitanya also won awards for Best Debutant Director by the South Indian Cinematographers' Association, Chennai Film Fans Association and Raghavendra Chitravani Award. Aa Dinagalu was listed by The Week among the top 10 Indian films of 2007. Chaitanya studied Journalism at Christ College.

Taledanda is a 1990 Kannada-language play written by Girish Karnad, an eminent person in Kannada literature, about the rise of the radical protest and reform movement, Lingaytism, in 12th century Karnataka. He was awarded the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award (1993) and the Sahitya Akademi Award in Kannada language for the play in 1994, and later awarded the Jnanpith Award for his literature work in 1998.

Mahesh Dattani is an Indian director, actor, playwright and writer. He wrote such plays as Final Solutions, Dance Like a Man, Bravely Fought the Queen, On a Muggy Night in Mumbai, Tara, Thirty Days in September 2007 and The Big Fat City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bharat Rang Mahotsav</span> Annual theatre festival in India

Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM) or the National Theatre Festival, started in 1999, is the annual theatre festival organised by National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi. The festival was started to showcase works of Indian theatre practitioners, and it has grown over the years to attract international performers as well. National School of Drama is India's premier theatre training institute funded by Govt. of India.

Amal Allana is an Indian theatre director, scenic designer and costume designer and presently she is in her second consecutive term as the Chairperson of National School of Drama, India's premier institute of Theatre training, she also runs the Dramatic Art and Design Academy (DADA), New Delhi, with her husband Nissar Allana, which they co-founded in 2000.

Apne Paraye is a 1980 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Basu Chatterjee and produced by Mushir Alam. It stars Amol Palekar and Shabana Azmi in pivotal roles. It is based on the 1917 Bengali novel, Nishkriti by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uma Shivakumar</span> Indian actress

Uma Shivakumar was an Indian film and theatre character actress, whose career included roles in more than 170 Kannada language films and more than 30 plays. She was nicknamed "Baddi Bangaramma" by audiences, after the popular 1984 film of the same name, in which she portrayed a moneylender.

Guwahati Theatre Festival is an annual theatre festival held in Guwahati city of Assam state, India. The festival is organized by G Plus, an English-language weekly tabloid newspaper in Guwahati. The festival aims to provide a platform to performing groups to showcase their productions before a new audience in the Guwahati city and North East region.

Padmavati Rao, credited as Akshatha Rao in Kannada films, is an Indian actress, theatre personality, poet, dancer and translator. She is known for her theatre activities and performances in movies including Ondanondu Kaladalli (1978),Geetha (1981),Pardes (1997), Padmaavat (2018) and Tanhaji (2020).

References

  1. 1 2 Gupta, Hemangini (19 March 2005). "Actor vs. actor". The Hindu . Bangalore. Archived from the original on 23 May 2005. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "Metaphor for a new age". The Tribune . 4 December 2005. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  3. ↑ George, Liza (18 March 2010). "The stage is her world". The Hindu Friday Review. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  4. ↑ "Exploring questions of linguistic identity". The Hindu . Bangalore. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "Karnad's 'Bikhre Bimb' today". The New Indian Express . Thiruvananthapuram. 13 March 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  6. 1 2 John, Jessu (14 July 2012). "Showcase: Politics of language". The Hindu Friday Review. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  7. ↑ Sucharita, Swati (12 February 2010). "Theatre at a price?". The Times of India . Hyderabad. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  8. ↑ Sawant, Purvaja (14 September 2012). "Theatre Review: Broken Images". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  9. 1 2 "'Bikhre Bimb' turns 50". Deccan Herald . 14 April 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  10. ↑ "Girish Karnad's 'Bikhre Bimb' walks away with top META awards". Oneindia.in. 8 March 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  11. ↑ Bhagat, Himanshu (23 April 2010). "The play of languages". Livemint . Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  12. ↑ Sharma, SD (25 September 2012). "Multilingual genius". Hindustan Times . Chandigarh. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  13. ↑ "Shabana Azmi joins US theatrical tour of Karnad's 'Broken Images'". Indian Tribune. Chicago. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  14. ↑ "Shabana Azmi's 'Broken Images' wins applause in US". The Indian Express . Chicago. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  15. ↑ Vincent, Anusha (21 September 2010). "The play Broken Images, written by Girish Karnad, directed by Alyque Padamsee and starring Shabana Azmi is going all the way to New York to enthral the audience there on October 8". The Times of India . Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  16. ↑ Mishra, Sheokesh (23 November 2012). "Three names shortlisted for National School of Drama director post". India Today . New Delhi. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  17. ↑ Parul (5 October 2012). "All the World's a Stage". The Indian Express . Retrieved 19 August 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.