The Tamil play Kallabhiraamam spotlights India’s forgotten soldiers and exposes society’s hypocrisy

In PMG Mayurapriya’s Kallabhiraamam (production: Vaishali Prasanth; story, dialogues, and direction: P. Muthukumaran), Akila (Anu Suresh) is engaged in research on unsung heroes of the freedom movement. Major Jaswanth (Saiprasad Sriram), a family friend, advises her to focus instead on unsung heroes of the army, for they are the ones who risk their lives so that the rest of the country may live in peace. Akila is determined to marry only someone who shares her passion for honouring those who have sacrificed for the nation. Her mother, who professes her patriotism by singing ‘Saare jahan se accha’ on days of national importance, refuses to accept the idea of her daughter marrying a soldier, whose life is fraught with uncertainty.

The play exposes the hypocrisy of those quick to praise the army while ensuring that their own children are comfortably settled abroad. The play informed the audience about heroes on and off the battlefield. One such was Ravindra Kaushik, an undercover agent in Pakistan, who joined the military accounts department there and relayed vital intelligence to India, until his identity was blown. He was imprisoned and later died. His sacrifice reminding  you of Churchill’s words: “So much owed by so many to so few’.

The play’s strong theme got lost in execution.
| Photo Credit:
B. Jothi Ramalingam

Turning the spotlight on forgotten heroes was laudable, and the playwright had done ample research. But, it felt like Akila and Jaswanth just rattled facts, making it feel more like a lecture on history, lacking emotional depth. It was not theatre, and the play failed to evoke a reflective mood.

The title Kallabhiraamam is from a verse, which says that a heroic stone installed for a warrior fallen in battle, is the most beautiful memorial in the world. The play, staged at the annual Kodai Nataka Vizha, concludes with plans to erect a statue for Singaram, a villager who fell to enemy bullets.