Q & A with Ratula Chakrabarti
One of the members of Seattle Theaterwala - a cultural theater group in Seattle with a mission to create a vibrant and positive climate of cultural exchange in the community through the art of theater. Ratula Chakrabarti has honed the craft of acting over 40+ years and had been delivering major performances for more than two decades for the Indian community at large in the Seattle area.
Rohan: Classical Indian drama emphasizes precise gestures and expressions. How do you train for roles that require such attention to detail in physicality and emotion?
Ratula C: There are quite a few ways to train when playing characters based on classical Indian text.
First and foremost, thoroughly analyze the script.
Study the characters and their relationships. Think of some mannerisms that the main characters might have.
Try to learn the social and religious customs of the time period.
Learn about the historical and mythological references.
Subtle facial expressions, hand and eye movements are key elements in classical Indian theater (a good way to learn this is by watching Kathak dance performances).
Practice voice modulation to bring out emotional depth. Control breathing to emphasize on intonations and rhythmic delivery (poetry, prose, and gestures together).
Traditional costumes, makeup, set design, music, and sound effects - all these help in building the foundation of the characters and the play.
Try to watch renowned classical Indian theatre productions on youtube etc. to observe the acting styles.
Most importantly, learn about major Indian classical dramas by Kalidasa etc, and
study the 11 founding principles of "Natya Shastra" (oldest ancient Indian theories on performing arts), written by the sage Bharata.
Rohan: Do you have a favorite Sanskrit play or character that you’ve performed or would like to perform? What draws you to it? Indian cinema often draws from classical drama. Have you ever worked on a project inspired by Sanskrit drama, and how was that experience?
Ratula C: My favorite Sanskrit play is the Mahabharata, which is one of the 2 major ancient epics of India, and one of the 4 major epics in the world. The Mahabharata conveys a strong message of truth, righteousness, and the importance of living ethically. The epic's central themes include the importance of dharma, or sacred duty, and the idea that good always triumphs over evil. The key life lessons on dharma, justice, and karma encourages spiritual awakening in its readers. Mahabharata has many many layers and complexities that gives out several important philosophical messages on life -- it is an extremely difficult drama to portray on stage. And that's what makes it so fascinating and challenging.
I've worked on a project inspired by Mahabharata, where I played the character of Kunti -- the mother of the 3 eldest Pandava brothers (Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Arjuna). Kunti is one of the most strong-willed women in Mahabharata. She's a complex character -- epitome of righteousness and dharma on one side, and secretive (birth of Karna out of wedlock) and shrewd on the other. She's the one who was responsible for starting the great war in Mahabharata. Portraying such a multi-layered character on stage has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life.
Rohan: What role do you think actors and theater practitioners play in preserving and reviving Sanskrit drama for future generations?
Ratula C: Actors and theater practitioners play a very important role in preserving culture and heritage. Unfortunately, not many theater personalities are rewriting and adapting from Indian ancient epics these days. The linguistic complexity, shift in formats, lack of patronage, and several other competing art forms are the main reasons for this decline. Both Ramayana and Mahabharata are very very relevant texts today, especially with the ever-changing socio, economic, and political situation in the world right now. There have been several adaptations in the past (TV series, movies, theaters, stories etc.), but we need more in new formats (podcasts, street plays, short videos, new movies with modern technologies etc.) for our future generations to learn about ancient Indian Sanskrit plays.
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