Gulle Nari...
Prakasam in its quest of bringing out top class theater projects has set its
focus on the legendary play “Gulle Nari” (Jackal) originally written and
directed by the veteran theater legend Srinivas Prabhu. The play is a comical
satire which was created in the earlier days of Prabhu’s career but is
absolutely relatable to the current scenario in the society.
Prakasam Director P. D. Sathish Chandra met with Srinivas Prabhu to discuss the
idea of bringing back the glory on stage. Prabhu sir was very happy to encourage
us and also has accepted to don the director’s hat making it the icing on the
cake. Upasana Mohan's apt music made this the first musical we staged for
Prakasam.
 
We also won Kannada International Music Award for best music and
lyrics in 2014 for the same. Listen to the award winning song
HERE.
It will be a dream come true for the Prakasam team to host this play under the
direction of Prabhu sir himself giving the audiences a chance to revisit the
glorious days of Kannada theater..
For you to read on:
About the Play:
The play is a classic written and directed by veteran NSD topper Mr Srinivas
Prabhu. He gave us some important insights about the play. The play has 5 main
characters and the unique part is that none of them are genuine. All of them are
acting not just on stage but also in the story to impress others for their
personal gains.
The play has an interesting plot which revolves around a rich guy Nariyanna
craving and greasing for more and more riches. He is a cunning man who puts up
an act to gain riches from his well-wishers. He is ably supported by his man
Friday Pathangi, who is as cunning if not more as his master and helps Nariyanna
to fool people.
The 3 well-wishers Kaakaraaya, Gidugayya and Haddappa are well to do people with
good name in the society but eager to send Nariyanna to the next next world to
get their hands on Nariyanna's wealth. All of them pose to be most concerned
about Nariyanna to gain his trust.
The play depicts the selfish nature of the human mind through the characters on
stage but manages to keep you entertained through the satirical humor which is
an underlying current of the play. The songs are superbly written for each
character and these when performed on stage gives the audience a chance to dance
in their seats.
The language used might be hard for most of the new gen people to digest but it
clearly shows that Kannada as a language can be used without any intrusion from
other languages. Some of the lines of this play impresses every soul and sends
out a message that our language is lovable and sweet.
The funny incidents between these men whose greed takes over their brains, is
nicely written as the Play Gulle Nari.
Read All the character names and you will realise they have a unique
nomenclature, another specialty of the play.
Author: Shrinivas Prabhu
This play was written in times when comedy was considered taboo and all the
plays written and performed were with human issues and sufferings in the
forefront. Be it professional or amateur, all groups were adhering to the most
used themes. It was an attempt from my side to move away from the existing
theater ways. This play was written during the times when Kannada Theater was
producing a lot of plays with serious issues as the backdrop of the plays.
Comedy was considered a taboo during those days and I wanted to break the
barrier. That led to the creation of this satire which was widely accepted by
the audiences.
The play received excellent responses from the audiences and also from some
factions of the theatre world. I was really happy to be a part of the play which
changed a few minds to look beyond the boundaries of existing theatre themes.
Srinivas Prabhu has been a very well known face in the households of Karnataka.
This immensely talented artiste has been performing at all stages for over 4
decades. Be it his intense role in the superhit and critically acclaimedcult
classic movie "Accident" or be it his voice which lent itself to one of the most
successful heroes of Kannada industry Ravichandran he has touched every nook and
corner of the arts world.
Little known to this generation are some of the facts which would get goosebumps
on any theater enthusiast.
- He was the first topper at National School of Drama from Karnataka and
possibly the only one.
- He wrote and directed plays from his college days and it was in his play Belli
Gundu that the famous Ananthnag made his first ever appearance on the kannada
theater stage.
- He wrote and directed many plays which won hearts of people all over india.
Some of them being 'Beli mattu hola', 'Antima yaathre'.
- 'Natyadarpana' the theatre group he found has been a platform for many
talented individuals to explore themselves.
- He has been actively involved in theater over the years and his performance in
a dual role in the comedy classic "nee neenadre naa naanena' is something that
this generation cherishes to the core.
Music: Upasana Mohan
 Upasana Mohan, the sugama sangeeta activist & a famous composer, singer and a
good friend of Pra.Ka.Sam’s director P D Sathish Chandra, graciously agreed to
compose music for Gulle Nari. Mohan also organises a one-of-its kind music
programme, Maneyangaladalli Sugama Sangeeta, by which he takes music to one
locality, every month. Singer Mohan established Upasana in 1999. Since then this
institution has been teaching light music (‘sugama sangeeta’) to hundreds of
students. Forty-year-old Mohan, popularly known as Upasana Mohan, learnt
Carnatic music from Vidwan Tandavamurthy and Vidwan Srivatsa in Mandya for four
years, and Hindustani music from Pandit Govinda Rotti here in Bangalore.
Upasana has held 60 such programmes in the City and has thus showcased the
talents of hundreds of budding singers. Mohan has released 34 music CDs of his
own composition. Mohan, has yet another feather in his cap. He has brought out a
book on all those musicians who have worked in the field of sugama sangeeta,
Sugama Sangeetada Lokada Sadhakaru, and strived to give it the pride of place it
occupies today.
Deccan Herald Profile of Upasana Mohan
Prakasam Director - P D Sathish Chandra:
Captain of the ship. Very difficult to understand him in short span of time.
As a director he know how to bring out the work done by his cast n crew. Gives
lots of freedom for the actors to show there acting skills. The team members are
very lucky and happy to work with him and in return keeps all the members
smiling all the time throughout the rehearsals. This is Sathish's eighth
production under the Pradarshana Kala Samsthe banner. He has been working with
different theatre groups from India at different times. He currently runs Kala
Soudha as its Director and aims to run the place to encourage new talent and to
bring out performances that are fresh and unique. He is now acting as Paddu in
Panduranga Vittala, a Kannada sitcom, on Zee Kannada. He is still known for his
theatre columns in newspapers and with special reference to the Sunday reviews
in the Times of India.
Cast & Crew:
Cast:
- P D Sathish Chandra as Kaakaraya (The Crow)
- Gagan Godgal as Gidugayya (The Vulture)
- Khuldeepak as Patangi (The Moth)
- Nisha as Harini (The Deer)
- Chandan Shankar as Haddappa (The Eagle)
- Santosh Karki as Nariyanna (The Sly Fox)
- Alok Urs as Chandra (The Hero)
- Nagaraja Venkateshappa as Obba/Yejamana
- Umesh Dodo as Innobba
- Raghavendra Gudi as Magadobba
- Venkatesh Reddy as Maddi
- Srivatsa M as Gidda
Crew:
- Parthasarathy Raju - Lights
- Kavitha Chikkegowda - Properties & Costumes
- Smitha Chandan - Photography
- Guru - Administration
- Mohan - Intern
- Vijay - Intern
- Ashok - Intern
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