Now sit back and watch plays online
Filmmaker Abhaya Simha will document three plays of Ninasam, the premier theatre school in the State
Abhaya Simha (35), president of the Sanchi Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation working for the documentation of audio-visual heritage discovered that many from the Kannada film industry “hadn’t watched even a single play”. This has sparked off a mammoth crowd-sourced documentation project where Simha will be partnering with Ninasam-the premier theatre school of the State; ironically, Ninasam which used to stage three plays annually, now stages only two a year.
The Bengaluru-based filmmaker, a graduate from the Film and Television Institute has previously directed three feature films in Kannada and one in Malayalam. His first film Gubbachigalu won the national award for the Best Children’s film (2008) and was screened in several National and International Film Festivals. Inspired by the likes of BV Karanth, Simha’s crowd-funded project is estimated to cost Rs 7 lakh. In the last two weeks of the launch of the project, they have been able to raise Rs 80,000.
The proposed project will record the three plays to be put up by Ninasam in a multi-camera setup and edit it with the state of the art audio-visual standards. (recording with be in High Definition and edited on the same platform). Simha, who is hoping to complete the project by November 2015 wants the “plays to be accessed by even universities abroad”.
Ninasamhas picked Gunamukha written by P Lankesh and directed by Manju Kodagu, Tartuffe, written by Moliere and directed by M Ganesh, and Orestis Purana written by Aeschylus and directed by BR Venkataramana Aithala. The recording is expected to take place in October. Once the documentation is done, each of the plays will have English subtitles, expert commentary, and the director’s video note. “We also plan to make a documentary on Ninasam and its heritage,” Simha says.
“These aspects will ensure that the documentation has a wider reach. It will not only entertain but also educate the interested audience. This documentation will have a greater appeal to historians, academics and scholars in the years to come.”
Although plays have been documented in the past, this is the first time that the plays would be made available online through Creative Commons, a non-profit organisation to share creative work. The rights for commercial use of the documentation will be given to Ninasam, and the proceeds will aid Ninasam setup a permanent mechanism to document all its future productions.
And Sanchi Foundation, through this pilot project, is hoping that others would come forward to adopt a similar model and systematically document renowned plays.
Abhaya Simha (35), president of the Sanchi Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation working for the documentation of audio-visual heritage discovered that many from the Kannada film industry “hadn’t watched even a single play”. This has sparked off a mammoth crowd-sourced documentation project where Simha will be partnering with Ninasam-the premier theatre school of the State; ironically, Ninasam which used to stage three plays annually, now stages only two a year.
The Bengaluru-based filmmaker, a graduate from the Film and Television Institute has previously directed three feature films in Kannada and one in Malayalam. His first film Gubbachigalu won the national award for the Best Children’s film (2008) and was screened in several National and International Film Festivals. Inspired by the likes of BV Karanth, Simha’s crowd-funded project is estimated to cost Rs 7 lakh. In the last two weeks of the launch of the project, they have been able to raise Rs 80,000.
The proposed project will record the three plays to be put up by Ninasam in a multi-camera setup and edit it with the state of the art audio-visual standards. (recording with be in High Definition and edited on the same platform). Simha, who is hoping to complete the project by November 2015 wants the “plays to be accessed by even universities abroad”.
Ninasamhas picked Gunamukha written by P Lankesh and directed by Manju Kodagu, Tartuffe, written by Moliere and directed by M Ganesh, and Orestis Purana written by Aeschylus and directed by BR Venkataramana Aithala. The recording is expected to take place in October. Once the documentation is done, each of the plays will have English subtitles, expert commentary, and the director’s video note. “We also plan to make a documentary on Ninasam and its heritage,” Simha says.
“These aspects will ensure that the documentation has a wider reach. It will not only entertain but also educate the interested audience. This documentation will have a greater appeal to historians, academics and scholars in the years to come.”
Although plays have been documented in the past, this is the first time that the plays would be made available online through Creative Commons, a non-profit organisation to share creative work. The rights for commercial use of the documentation will be given to Ninasam, and the proceeds will aid Ninasam setup a permanent mechanism to document all its future productions.
And Sanchi Foundation, through this pilot project, is hoping that others would come forward to adopt a similar model and systematically document renowned plays.
