Kaalam Maarinaal - Tamil Play
Deepavali 2005, on November 5th

Our first major event after incorporating SDTS as a non-profit organization; "Kaalam Marinaal", a Tamil comedy drama was a great success.

Here are some of the reviews.

Indian Express, North America Edition
Thendral Tamil Magazine

Review for the SDTS Website

Susheela Narayanan
Professor of Child Development, Mesa College

The 2005 Deepavali season in sunny San Diego came to an end with the staging of a Tamil drama, Kaalam Maarinal, at the upscale California Center for Performing Arts in Escondido. Sponsored by the San Diego Tamil Sangam, the comedy was written and directed by local resident Ramesh Venkatraman with the help of many volunteers and supporters from the local South Indian community.

The story details the adventures of two young, unemployed graduates who mess around with a time machine invented by eccentric uncle Chari. Reminiscent of H.G. Wells’ classic story, the machine transports them into three different periods of past history: the time of Kannagi and Kovalan and the burning of Madurai; the time of historical king Veerapandiya Kattabomman’s revolt against the British; and the more modern, turbulent time of India’s independence and partition. In all cases the pair uses their knowledge of the future to try and undo the tragic events and change the course of history. How they go about doing this provides much laughter and hilarity!

What was particularly noteworthy about this production was the excellent integration of high tech computer effects providing a background for the on-stage players. The feeling of being in a time machine hurtling through the vast reaches of outer space was effectively conveyed through the skilful use of sound and light effects and computer – video projections. Old movie clips with background music and songs were also appropriately used to create the atmosphere of that particular period in history and accentuate the role of the central characters. Props, costumes and make up were all excellently coordinated to add to the total effect. The technical team of Ramesh Venkatraman, Shyam Chandrasekaran, and Anush Krishnaswami are to be commended for their creativity and teamwork in pulling off the special effects.

In a play dominated by male actors the two female leads, both playing multiple roles, held their own with strong performances as the vengeful Kannagi (Aarthi Shrivas) and Queen Kooperum Devi (Anu Rajasekharan). Meera Venkatesh played a short supporting role as Meera Ben, one of Gandhi’s followers. All the male actors did a great job but some deserve special mention. Noteworthy performances were given by lead actors Asokan Selvaraj as the fearless and majestic Kattabomman; Krishnan Lakshminarasimhan as the comical translator Ettappan; Raj Rajasekharan as King Pandian; Ramesh Venkatraman as the hero and narrator Rahul; and Johnny Garon doing an outstanding job as British officers Jackson and Mountbatten.

The third act of pre-independent India was probably the one that most of the audience could easily relate to because of the modern setting and colloquial language. All the actors looked and played their parts very convincingly – M.N. Krisnaswami was the epitome of an elderly Gandhi, Sam Narayanan was a convincing Nehru, willing to compromise, while M.C. Venkatesh was the manipulative and self-centered Jinnah. Unfortunately, the sound system began to deteriorate due to technical difficulties and the high volume of background noise in the auditorium, making the dialogs somewhat inaudible (Hint to parents of young children: if your child is restless wouldn’t it be better for you to sit in the back and take him/her out for a short chill-out break? that would show awesome respect for the hardworking performers and the rest of the audience). However, in spite of these minor glitches, the play stood out as a great production, testimonial to the creativity, hard work and dedication of the producer Ramesh Venkatraman, for whom it was truly a feather in his cap! The San Diego audience truly enjoyed it and looks forward to seeing more such artistic endeavors in the future.