The Dramatic Arts : Endrum Anbudan

Endrum Anbudan, performed by Sowmya Theaters and  written and directed by TV Radhakrishnan, hails itself as the one play dedicated to the father among the plethora of plays which are dedicated to the mother. So much so in fact, there aren’t any lady artists in the play.

Summing up the plot in a few words is a difficult task because it is a very simple story involving father, his two sons and two of the fathers close friends. The meat of the play is obtained from the emotional effects of certain events on the father and the sons and also from the light hearted humor sprinkled in between.

So without any further ado let us jump right into the analysis.

Story/Direction - TV Radhakrishnan

Set- Saidai Kumar/Shanmugam

Make up- Perambur Kumar

Light and music-Kalaivanar kicha

Special voice for father -Railway Anand.

Cast - Ramani-as Doctor, Sriram ramani-as elder son Manoj, Girish venkat-as younger son Shankar, MB moorthy- as friend Cheenu, P.T.Ramesh -as father Mahadevan

What I Liked:

Let’s start with the actors here. Since there are only a small number of characters there are an equally small number of actors, five to be exact. With such a small number of actors there is very little room for mistakes and I am happy to report that there are almost no missteps here.

All of the actors gave amazing performances, but I will say this, the emotional centre of the play hinges on the actor that plays the father. I am pleased to sat that “Sowyma Theaters” PT Ramesh delivers in spades. His performance is full of emotion and stands out even among the small group of amazing actors.

Moving on, the make-up by “Perambur” Kumar is on point. The set design by “Saidai” Kumar and Shanmugam is also done really well. All the props have a purpose and compliment the story really well.

In what is a great undertaking, the lights and music are done by “Kalaivanar” Kitcha, and mostly he succeeds. The lighting is on point and conveys the mood of one scene and the tension of another in perfect fashion. The music falls under the good-enough category I was just satisfied, nothing more.

What Could Have Been Better:

Falling back to my usual point based system lets discuss some of the weaknesses of the play. Interestingly, there aren’t that many negatives if you look at it in a superficial level, but as I was watching the play there were a few things which struck me as odd decisions and this is what I want to discuss here.

As in any story, the characters evolve over the duration of the play. The characters which change the most are the two sons and it is these changes that they undergo that I found difficult buy. While I don’t want to spoil much of the story, I do want to discuss this in some more detail.

The elder son starts off in a certain manner and at around the halfway mark of the play undergoes a emotional change which is okay. We understand where his emotions are coming form and we understand his thinking, but as we move towards the end if the play there is one scene which contradicts his emotional stance during the climax. The one scene is when he comes to meet his dad after returning home. I am deducting half a point for that.

The story remains fairly straight forward, but in the end there is a twist which seemed unnecessary and forced. Certain characters are vilified and the whole process seems necessary and also quite confusing. While it is to play up the sentimental and emotional value of the play, I felt that it could have ended without all the twists. Some may disagree with me, but I want to assert my point in stating that this is more of a execution problem than a story problem. Half a point removed, for that.

Finally the music lacked some finesse and also didn’t suit the emotion of certain scenes. While the music used is really well done, it just seemed ill fitted in certain scenes. This coupled with a few scenes where dialogues were forgotten and actors rearranged themselves for the lighting, lead up to me deducting half a point.

Final Thoughts:

Purely in terms of emotion and storytelling, Endrum Anbudan, is a masterful play. But taking a look at certain plot points and also at the entire execution you can’t help but wonder where it lacked. I guess the answer lies in the overall finesses of the play. While not a bad play by any means it wasn’t as amazing as I wanted it to be either.

I give Endrum Anbudan 3.5 out of 5 stars.

That’s it for my review of Endrum Anbudan. Leave your comments, if any, down below and I will see you guys next time.

Peace!!!