Why a Tamil version of Reservoir Dogs?
I was impressed with the pace of the plot and felt it could be explored on stage as a one-act play. When we initiated [theater company] 2Tango Dazzle, we were also driven to explore good scripts in English that could be adapted in Tamil.
What is the response from the Tamil community?
Tamil community has always been shy of content with controversy. The moment we publicized that it is NC16, many sponsors and [community members] started showing their reservations. However, we believe it is necessary to maintain the violence and the coarse language to bring out the essence of the play.
The website says the play is “immersive, real-time, no chairs”. What can we expect?
The play is going to have lots of surprises. I can’t reveal much at this moment. We are aiming to transform the entire black box into a warehouse so that audience have a real experience of sitting in an actual location rather than a theater space. In addition, we are going to shock the audience [with the realness of the violence].
Who are you a fan of in the local scene?
My lifelong dream was to work with my superhero, Re. Somasundaram, my dad. Thanks to [director Subramanian] Ganesh, I acted with him in Othello, adapted in Tamil last year. Then directing him in Kullanari was just simply euphoric.
Any trouble with censorship?
Censorship was kind to us. However we have reduced and removed quite a bit with our conservative Indian audience in mind. Hopefully they comprehend that the directors have maintained certain things to ensure the adrenaline in the plot.
Kullanari is on Dec 18-21 at Aliwal Arts Centre. For more information, click here.
