Mali [V. Madhavan Nair]’s ‘Karnasapatham’, the most popular Kathakali play of the 20th century, is also considered the most dramatic one among ‘new generation’ attakathas. Although the play was not popular initially, Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair as Kunthi and Kalamandalam Gopi as Karna easily paved the way for its success. However, there are some puritans who still have not accepted it as a hardcore Kathakali play for want of literature and choreography.
Palakkad Kathakali Trust recently staged the play at M.D. Ramanathan Hall. The highpoint of the play is the meeting of Kunthi and Karna. Kunthi reveals the truth about Karna’s birth and exhorts him to join the Pandavas. Karna promises her that he would not kill any of his brothers except Arjuna. Kottakkal Chandrasekhara Warrier was perfect as Karna initially, especially in the padam ‘Sodaree Maha…’, but he eventually lost his grip over the character. In the manodharma attam in which Karna recollects his past, Warrier took a lot of time to narrate his story and it ruined the tempo of the play.
The next scene where Karna meets Kunthi was over dramatic, especially his reactions between the padam ‘Oothunnen oru sathyam...’. However, Warrier made up for the drawbacks towards the end of the play.
Kalamandalam Rajasekharan’s Kunthi was impressive. Although the artiste did not seem to be emotionally connected with the character, his presentation of mudras stood out.
Kalanilayam Balan impressed in the role of Duryodhana. Sadanam Suresh [Bhanumathi] and Kalanilayam Madhumohan[ Dussasanan] too supported the artistes. Kottakkal Madhu’s rendering of the padams was the highlight of the performance. He was supported by Kalamandalam Vinod.
Kalamandalam Venu Mohan (chenda) and Cherpulassery Hariharan (maddalam) provided excellent percussion support.
