TV Varadharajen’s play Kasalavu Nesam was closer to reality

Humour and satire have always been the mainstay of Tamil theatre. Directors and script writers weave in the element of comedy even into a serious storyline to reach out to a wider audience. United Visuals too has done so with Kasalavu Nesam, staged recently at Narada Gana Sabha.

TV Varadharajen plays the protagonist, Sugavanam, for whom family is more important than money. He never says ‘no’ whenever any of the family members asks for money. His attitude worries his wife Mahalakshmi (played by Lakshmi), who tells him to save for a rainy day. She keeps asking him, “neenga appaviya or yemalia” (are you innocent or one who gets fooled).

Kasalavu Nesam.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The play begins with Sugavanam entering the stage dressed formally, with a shawl draped around his shoulders and a helmet in his hand. He has been honoured at work for completing 25 years. The play then moves on to show how the family places new demands before him knowing that he has got a bonus. Misguided by a colleague, Sugavanam decides to take VRS. His wife suffers a heart attack when she realises that he has been cheated of ₹20 lakh. Sugavanam soon understands the importance of spending prudently, and how a job defines one’s identity. The play closes with Mahalakshmi recovering from her illness and Sugavanam taking up a new job.

Varadharajen’s plays usually portray the problems and issues of middle-class families. He picks up subjects that people can relate to and weaves into them thought-provoking messages.

Varadharajen as Sugavanam, Lakshmi as his wife, Shankarkumar, who plays Sugavanam’s younger brother Kothandaram, Usha Nandini as his sister Visalam and Swayamprakash, the father brought out well the many shades of their characters. The audience enjoyed the dialogues and scenes that seemed straight out of their own lives.

The backstory

This play was originally staged with the title Matrum Palar. It has been revived with some modifications in the script, by Vedham Pudhidhu Kannan, to suit the present times. Ironically, he wrote this story in 1998, after seeking VRS.

The new title, Kasalavu Nesam, is inspired by one of legendary writer-director K. Balachander’s popular TV serial. This drama was staged last on July 8 to celebrate Balachander’s 92nd birth anniversary.