Odakalu Bimba
| Odakalu Bimba | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Girish Karnad |
| Characters | Manjula Nayak (Kannada and Hindi), Manjula Sharma (Shabana Azmi version) |
| Date premiered | 2005 |
| Place premiered | Rangashankara, Bangalore |
| Original language | Kannada |
| Setting | Bangalore |
Odakalu Bimba is a Kannada monodrama by Indian playwright and author Girish Karnad. It was written in 2005 and marked Karnad's return to direction after a period of thirty years. He directed the play with KM Chaitanya[1][2]
It was translated and titled Bikhre Bimb in Hindi and A Heap of Broken Images in English. It starred Arundhati Nag as Manjula Nayak and her doppelgänger in the Kannada and Hindi versions while Arundhati Raja played the same role in the English version.[1][3]
The plot revolves around the protagonist Manjula Nayak who is an unsuccessful writer in Kannada and finds success with her novel written in English. Her doppelgänger later questions her about her choice to write in English rather than in her own language and the betrayal of her own language.[4][5]
The play earned itself positive reviews which subsequently resulted in a new production of it in English which was directed by Alyque Padamsee and featured Shabana Azmi playing the lead role of Manjula Sharma, a Hindi writer who is unsuccessful.[6][7][8]
The play won the awards for Best Playwright and Best Director while Nag won the Best Actress award for her role at the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards in 2008.[9][10]
Karnad got the idea to write the play when he attended a talk in Bangalore by Shashi Deshpande, daughter of Kannada writer Shriranga, on Indian writers who wrote in English not being treated on par with English writers of foreign origin.[6][11]
The play was originally performed at Bangalore. The Kannada version of the play were performed all across Karnataka, while the Hindi version was performed across different cities in India including Delhi, Chennai, Chandigarh and Thiruvananthapuram.[9][12] The English version featuring Azmi was performed in the United States where it was received positively.[13][14][15]
The play was produced by and originally performed at Ranga Shankara, Bangalore which was built in honour of Nag's late husband Shankar Nag.[16][17]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Gupta, Hemangini (19 March 2005). "Actor vs. actor". The Hindu. Bangalore. Archived from the original on 23 May 2005. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ "Metaphor for a new age". The Tribune. 4 December 2005. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- ^ George, Liza (18 March 2010). "The stage is her world". The Hindu Friday Review. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ "Exploring questions of linguistic identity". The Hindu. Bangalore. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ "Karnad's 'Bikhre Bimb' today". The New Indian Express. Thiruvananthapuram. 13 March 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ a b John, Jessu (14 July 2012). "Showcase: Politics of language". The Hindu Friday Review. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ Sucharita, Swati (12 February 2010). "Theatre at a price?". The Times of India. Hyderabad. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ Sawant, Purvaja (14 September 2012). "Theatre Review: Broken Images". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ a b "'Bikhre Bimb' turns 50". Deccan Herald. 14 April 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ^ "Girish Karnad's 'Bikhre Bimb' walks away with top META awards". Oneindia.in. 8 March 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ Bhagat, Himanshu (23 April 2010). "The play of languages". Livemint. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ Sharma, SD (25 September 2012). "Multilingual genius". Hindustan Times. Chandigarh. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- ^ "Shabana Azmi joins US theatrical tour of Karnad's 'Broken Images'". Indian Tribune. Chicago. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ "Shabana Azmi's 'Broken Images' wins applause in US". The Indian Express. Chicago. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ Vincent, Anusha (21 September 2010). "The play Broken Images, written by Girish Karnad, directed by Alyque Padamsee and starring Shabana Azmi is going all the way to New York to enthral the audience there on October 8". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- ^ Mishra, Sheokesh (23 November 2012). "Three names shortlisted for National School of Drama director post". India Today. New Delhi. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- ^ Parul (5 October 2012). "All the World's a Stage". The Indian Express. Retrieved 19 August 2013.