Theater masks, drama and comedy with a red curtain as backdrop / 3D Rendering, Mixed media.
| Photo Credit: fergregory
This weekend, a play based on the 2nd Century Tamil epic Silappadikaram will be staged in the city. Titled The Anklet, it is slated to be “a bold, minimalist adaptation” of Ilango Adigal’s literary masterpiece that brought Kannagi’s story to the world.
An image from the play’s rehearsal
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The Anklet is a contemporary adaptation of the ancient Tamil epic Silappadikaram, reimagined for today’s audience, says Shatarupa Bhatatcharyya, the director. At its heart lies Kannagi, a woman whose world collapses when her husband Kovalan (essayed by Nazar/ Prateek), falsely accused of theft, is executed. A furious Kannagi storms the palace, proves her husband’s innocence, and calls upon Agni, the god of fire, to punish the city. The play follows Kannagi’s journey from Puhar through betrayal, reconciliation, and ultimately to Madurai, where a single act of injustice ignites divine fury that burns an entire city.
An image from the play’s rehearsal
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
What begins as a story of loss transforms into one of defiance. Kannagi’s (played by Pooja Sreenan/ Spoorthi Gumuste) rage burns through injustice and questions the moral fabric of a society built on patriarchal power.
Shatarupa adds that the play explores guilt, silence, and truth through a minimalist lens — objects, shadows, and bodies become the language of storytelling. “It’s less about retelling the legend and more about revisiting it: what happens when an old story confronts the present? What does justice mean when spoken by a woman whose grief has no place to go? Through movement, music, and silence, the play journeys through love, betrayal, rage, and redemption. It asks: when justice fails, what remains? When love is lost, can truth still stand tall? It’s an ancient story that speaks startlingly to our times.”
An image from the play’s rehearsal
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
When Shatarupa read the script (written by Vijay Padaki), he realised it was not just an ancient Tamil epic, but “a story pulsing with questions that still haunt us. Kannagi’s quiet rage, her demand for justice, and her transformation from a grieving woman into a symbol of resistance felt deeply contemporary.”
What drew Shatarupa in was not only the myth itself, but the spaces between; the pauses, the silences, the shifting moral gaze. “The Anklet became a chance to explore how women’s stories are told, retold, and often misunderstood. “Directing it has been like conversing with time — listening to an old voice and finding that it still has something urgent to say.”
Shatarupa says Vijay adpated the script beautifully from the original epic. “The challenge was to stay true to the emotional essence of the original text while making it speak to contemporary audiences. The epic is vast, poetic, and layered with myth but theatre demands immediacy. I had to distill that expanse into something intimate and visceral, without losing its moral and emotional weight.”
The temptation to glorify Kannagi as a saintly figure had to be resisted, says Shatarupa. “I wanted her to remain human, flawed, impulsive, and vulnerable. The process became about finding a balance between reverence and rebellion, between history and now. Every rehearsal was a negotiation between myth and modernity.”
On October 11 at Alliance Française de Bangalore. 4 pm and 7.30 pm. Tickets on bookmyshow.com
Published – October 08, 2025 03:43 pm IST
