Gopan Chidambaram throughout ‘Thuramukham’ film shoot
| Photo Credit: AJ JOJI
Watching Rajiv Ravi’s critically-acclaimed historic drama Thuramukham, which streams on SonyLiv from April 28, is like being a fly on the wall, witnessing first-hand the wrestle that 1000’s of Cochin port staff went via for generations to earn labour rights. The characters and the story are written with such care and depth which you could’t assist be immersed within the epic story. This is essentially due to Gopan Chidambaram, who scripted the film based mostly on the play of the identical title that his father, playwright and faculty trainer Ok. M. Chidambaram, wrote in 1968.
“Thuramukham is the story of the workers’ struggle for their self-respect and basic rights. This is extremely relevant, considering how unfairly our society, especially those who are extremely privileged, treats manual labourers and other workers now”Gopan Chidambaram
Also learn |‘Thuramukham’ film assessment: Rajeev Ravi’s movie is a crucial doc of the struggles to unionise for rights
From stage to silverscreen
A photograph of the rehearsal of the play Thuramukham from 2018
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
“The original play was a domestic drama set in the highly political backdrop of 1953 Mattancherry, which witnessed a police firing that killed three port union workers and injured several others,” says Gopan, a college member on the Theatre division of Sree Sankaracharya Sanskrit University, Kallady.
Although the play was revealed in 1971 and had a number of readings throughout the Seventies, it was not carried out on stage throughout his father’s time. Gopan remembers how veteran theatre writers and artists used to go to his father to influence him to allow them to stage it. “Playwrights from that era were possessive about their work. I think he wasn’t convinced by any of them. So, it was never performed on stage back then,” he provides. However, Gopan resurrected the play in 2018 and staged it for the primary time at Uru Art Harbour in Mattancherry, with native residents enjoying the lead characters.
Actor Poornima Indrajith as Umma (mom) in Thuramukham
| Photo Credit:
AJ JOJI
While the play is ready completely in 1953 on the time of the police firing, the film delves deeper into the sociopolitical setting that led to the 1953 incident. “We wanted to flesh out the historical setting and political atmosphere surrounding the incident. So, we began with a story of a family involving a father, a mother, two sons and a daughter, starting from the time when the port was being built in 1930,” says Gopan.
The film explores in-depth the inhumane Chappa system that pressured port staff to bodily battle to pay money for copper cash thrown by gang leaders into the group. Getting one of many cash gave them the fitting to a specific quantity of labor and pay that day. It narrates how this violent and exploitative system modified via years of the employees’ wrestle, culminating within the police firing.
Brecht’s disciple
Scripting an epic story spanning greater than 20 years isn’t a simple process for any author. However, this isn’t the primary time that Gopan has pulled it off. He additionally wrote the script of Amal Neerad’s 2014 interval drama Iyobinte Pusthakam , which once more informed the story of a wrestle — a battle for the land in opposition to those that have been exploiting it for revenue and energy.
A screenshot of Lal as Iyob and Fahadh Faasil as Aloshy from Iyobinte Pusthakam
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Despite each his movies being interval dramas, Gopan clarifies that his intention was by no means to write down a film of a specific style. “I find that historical themes come naturally to me as a writer, and I love working with history, partly because I am an admirer of [Bertolt] Brecht’s plays and the use of historicisation in his plays. I have tried to emulate that in my works as well,” he explains.
This is clear in Gopan’s adaptation of real-life incidents (such because the 1953 police firing) and personalities, such because the inclusion of activists-turned-politicians Ok T Punnose and Rosamma Punnose as characters in Iyobinte Pusthakam, and union leaders P Gangadharan and Santo Gopalan in Thuramukham.
In Brechtian ‘Epic Theatre’ motion, historicisation is a strong device to remark on up to date social or political points utilizing a historic context, one thing we are able to see in each of Gopan’s scripts. “The socio-political themes that I have tried to explore in these scripts demanded a historical treatment. Historicising incidents and characters is an effective way of getting an idea across to the audience. When a person with a strong political mooring such as Rosamma Punnose appears in a story, it is clear to the audience what she stands for and what the story itself is trying to say,” he provides.
Approaching historical past
Gopan Chidambaram (centre) with actors who performed the port staff in ‘Thuramukham’
| Photo Credit:
AJ JOJI
Speaking of historical past, Gopan believes that our society can not transfer ahead with out wanting again on the previous. He provides, “ Thuramukham is the story of the workers’ struggle for self-respect and basic rights. This is relevant, considering how unfairly our society, especially those who are privileged, treats manual labourers and other workers now. Whatever rights that workers from all levels of society have today are the result of a long and ongoing struggle by workers. It was necessary to historicise that struggle and showcase it to the current generation.”
Moreover, at a time when historical past is a contentious matter in India, Gopan believes writers and artists have an enormous accountability when coping with historic topics. “We are now seeing history being recreated and manipulated. I personally believe artists need to be aware of these manipulations and take extra care when dealing with history in their work.”
Thuramukham will stream on SonyLiv from April 28, 2023.
