All Set to Setup the Set

A Saturday morning is all about snuggling up and waking up late, only to find yourself back in the warm bed by afternoon. Sometimes it’s about preparing for the evening party and lift our “spirits” sky high!

Last Saturday was a little different for the set team of Hosabelaku. We decided to have the spirits high right from the morning.

Even though the time decided was 10:30, by the time we all got together it was around 11:30 and yes, Mr. Kumaraswamy guided us to our weekend shopping. Unlike the normal weekends, this time we were running around to find elbows, T’s, nuts, bolts along with PVC pipes. We also managed to squeeze in a little bit of tea while we were searching for the raw materials to dress up Hosabelaku.

A lot of us were hungry, unlike the lucky ones Harish and Ashwin, who had broken their fast at home before they came. Even though we are foodies to the bone, we tightened our belts and jumped at the work! The weather was pretty nice and we did not have to sweat as much.

Ashwin, me, vasu and Ranga (KHKS) looked like plumbers carrying the five, twenty feet pipes!! There were homely looking middle-aged women watching us curiously as if this was the highlight of their day.

Finally we assembled at the canteen area of KHKS and started working on the unique concept of making an easy and light set, courtesy Mr. PDSC. I must say he is a visionary, providing so many new ideas. Harish was extremely helpful in getting things done once we got the raw materials. He was superfast yet very accurate in his measurements and implementation of the idea.

Initially when we started out, we did feel we would take a lot of time in getting these pipes to look like a frame but we were in for a surprise as in-between the bouts of laughter and session after hilarious session of leg pulling, we were almost done! Harish was the main villain cutting the pipes away to glory and Ashwin, vasu and Suhas were the partners in crime. I must say these guys never put a foot wrong.

Here we were- as a team we had made the necessary frames and we had made it stand by itself as well. Proud moment I must say.

As it’s always said,” The play is just an hour long but the work that goes into it is days together.” The fun that’s there in getting these things done is unimaginable and Ashwin acknowledged that in his own words when he said “I haven’t had so much fun and haven’t laughed so much in the past 1 year as I did today”. Well, the reasons for that are best undisclosed!

And BW was the next stop. It’s becoming like a “thavaru mane” for KHKS!

Thus ended a memorable Saturday for all of us! We are waiting to dress up our new found love- “Hosabelaku”

ಹೊಸಬೆಳಕು ಮೂಡ್ತಾ ಇದ್ಯ ?

ಅದೇ ಹಳೇ ಆಫೀಸು, ಹಳೇ ಕ್ಯುಬಿಕಲ್ಲು, ಕಿತ್ತೋಗಿರೋ ಹಳೇ ಪ್ರಾಜೆಕ್ಟು, ತಿಪ್ಪರಲಾಗ ಹೊಡೆದರು ಫಿಕ್ಸ್ ಆಗದೆ ಇರೋ ಹಳೇ ಡಿಫೆಕ್ಟ್ಸು..ಈ ಎಲ್ಲ ಹಳೆಯ ಬೋರಿಂಗ್ ವಿಷ್ಯದ ನಡುವೆ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಖುಷಿ ಕೊಡೊಂಥ, ಹೊಸ ಹುರುಪು ತರುವಂತಹದನ್ನ ಏನಾರು ಮಾಡ್ಬೇಕು ... ಏನ್ ಮಾಡೋದು ?? ನಾನ್ ಏನ್ ಮಾಡ್ತೀನಿ..? ಟೈಂಪಾಸ್ ಗೆ ಆಗ್ ಆಗ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ಮಾಡ್ತಿದ್ದೆ, ಆ ಅಭ್ಯಾಸನು ಬಿಟ್ಹೋಯ್ತು. ಆಗೊಮ್ಮೆ ಈಗೊಮ್ಮೆ ಹೋಗುವ ಟ್ರೆಕ್ಕಿಂಗ್, ಫೋಟೋಗ್ರಫಿ ಟ್ರಿಪ್ ಗಳು ಈಗ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಆಗಿದೆ. ಹಾಗಂತ ಈ ಹವ್ಯಾಸಗಳು ಬೋರ್ಆಯಿತು ಅಂತ ಅಲ್ಲ. ಈ ಎಲ್ಲದರ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಹೊಸದು ಇನ್ಏನಾರು ಮಾಡ್ಬೇಕು ಅಂತ ತುಂಬಾ ದಿನಗಳಿಂದ ಆಸೆ ಇತ್ತು.

ಹೀಗಿರುವಾಗ Facebook ನಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದ್ ದಿನ ಒಂದ್ notification ಬಂತು - ಹೊಸಬೆಳಕು ಅನ್ನೋ ನಾಟಕಕ್ಕೆ auditionನಡೆಯುತ್ತೆ, ಆಕ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡೋಕ್ಕೆ ಇಷ್ಟ ಇರೋರು ಬರಬಹುದು ಅಂತ. ನಾಟಕಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಆಕ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡ್ಬೇಕ್ ಅಂತ ನಂಗು ಆಸೆ ಇತ್ತು.., ಹಾಗೆ, ಅದು ನಂಗೆ ಬರೋದಿಲ್ಲ ಅಂತನೂ ಗೊತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಆದ್ರೆ audition ಹೋಗೋದ್ರಿಂದ ನಾನ್ ಕಳೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳೋದು ಏನು ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. Facebook ನಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಇವೆಂಟ್ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ನೋಡಿದಾಗ ನಾನ್ ಯಾಕ್ ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗಬಾರದು ಅನ್ನಿಸಿತು. ಸೆಲೆಕ್ಟ್ ಆಗದೆ ಇದ್ರೂ ok, ಭಾಗವಹಿಸೋ ಅನುಭವನೆ ಹೊಸದಾಗಿರುತ್ತೆ ಅಂತ ನಾನು auditionಗೆ ಹೋದೆ.

ಅಲ್ಲಿ, ನಾನ್ ಆಕ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡೋಕ್ ಹೋಗಿದ್ದ ಪಾರ್ಟ್ ನ ಒಂದ್ ಎರಡ್ ಲೈನ್ ಕೊಟ್ಟು, ಹೇಳೋಕ್ಕೆ ಹೇಳಿದ್ರು..ನಂಗೆ ಬಂದಹಾಗೆ ನಾನು ಹೇಳ್ದೆ. HR ರೌಂಡ್ ಇಂಟರ್ವ್ಯೂ ಕೂಡ ಇತ್ತು . ನಾವು ಕಂಪನಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ why do you want to work for this company ? ಅಂತ ಕೇಳೋ ಹಾಗೆ, ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಅವ್ರು : ನಾಟ್ಕ (ಮಾಡೋಕ್ಕೆ ಬರದೆ ಇದ್ರೂ) ಮಾಡೋ ಆಸೆ ಯಾಕೆ ಅಂತ ಕೇಳಿದ್ರು.. ನಾನು ಏನೋ ಒಂದ್ ಬಾಯಿಗ್ ಬಂದಿದ್ ಡೈಲಾಗ್ ಬಿಟ್ಟೆ, ಅದ್ನ ಕೇಳಿ ಅವ್ರು ನನ್ನ ಬಿಟ್ರು . ಆದ್ರೆ ನಮ್ directorದು ವಿಶಾಲವಾದ ಮನಸ್ಸು, ಅದ್ಕೆ crew ಕೆಲಸ ಕೊಟ್ರು, ನಾನು ಅದ್ಕೆ ಓಕೆ ಅಂದೆ.

ಈ ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲೆ ನಾನು ಯಾಕೆ ಭಾಗಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದಿನಿ...ಹೇಳ್ತಿನಿ. ಮೊದಲೇ ಹೇಳಿದ್ ಹಾಗೆ ನಾನು ಒಂದು ಹೊಸ ಹವ್ಯಾಸ ರೂಢಿಸಿ ಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು ಅಂತ ಇಷ್ಟ ಇತ್ತು. ನಾಟಕ ಕಲೆ ಕಲಿ ಬೇಕು ಅನ್ನೋದು ನನ್ನ ಸುಮಾರು ದಿನಗಳ ಆಸೆಯಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಆದರೆ ಹೇಗೆ ಸೇರೋದು. ಈ ನಾಟಕ ರಂಗನೂ ನಮ್ಮ IT ಕಂಪನಿ ಹಾಗೆ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಸಾಗರ. ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ತಂಡಗಳು, ಸುಮಾರು ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಂದ ರಂಗದ ವಿವಿಧ ವಿಭಾಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡ್ತಾ ಬಂದಿರೋರು, ಅದನ್ನೇ proffession ಆಗಿ ತಗೊಂಡಿರೊರು ತುಂಬಾ ಜನ ಇದಾರೆ. ಹೀಗಿರುವಾಗ ನಾನ್ ಹೇಗ್ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಎಂಟ್ರಿ ತಗೊಳ್ಳಿ ? ನಾನು PD ಕೆಲಸದ ಸ್ಟೈಲ್ ಮುಂಚೆ ನೋಡಿದ್ದೆ, ನಂಗೆ ಅದು ಹಿಡಿಸಿತ್ತು. ಅವ್ರು ಹೊಸ ನಾಟ್ಕ ಮಾಡ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಅಂತ ತಿಳಿದಾಗ, ಈ ಕಲೆ ಕಲಿಯಲು ಇದು ಒಳ್ಳೆ ಚಾನ್ಸ್ ಅನ್ನಿಸಿತು. ನನಿಗೆ ನಾಟಕ ಪ್ರತಿ ವಿಭಾಗವು ಹೊಸದ್ದಾದರಿಂದ, ನಾನು ಯಾವದೇ ಕೆಲಸಕ್ಕೂ ರೆಡಿ ಇದ್ದೆ. ಡೈಲಾಗ್ ಹೇಳೋಕ್ಕೆ ಅಂತ ಹೊದೊನು ಸದ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಈಗ ಡೈಲಾಗ್ ಹೇಳ್ಕೊಡು ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡ್ತಾ ಇದೀನಿ.., ಅಂದ್ರೆ ನಮ್ಮ cast, ಡೈಲಾಗ್ ಮರೆತರೆ ಅವ್ರಿಗೆ ಪ್ರಾಂಪ್ಟ್ ಮಾಡೋದು ನನ್ ಕೆಲಸ. ಈಗ ಸದ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಯಾರಿಗೂ ಕರೆಕ್ಟ್ ಆಗಿ ಎಲ್ಲ ಡೈಲಾಗ್ ಬರೋಲ್ಲ.., ನಂಗು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಕೆಲಸ ಇದೆ, ಆದ್ರೆ ಅವ್ರು ಅದ್ನ ಕಲಿತಮೇಲೆ..ನಾನ್ ಏನ್ ಮಾಡ್ಲಿ ? :) ನೋ ಪ್ರಾಬ್ಲಮ್ .. ಆಮೇಲೆ ಬೇರೆ ಯಾವಾದ್ರು ಕೆಲಸ ಹೊಂಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳೋದು...ಯಾರೋ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಮನುಷ್ಯರು : Don't be just another brick in the wall ಅಂತ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರಂತೆ. ಆದ್ರೆ ನಾನ್ ಅದ್ನ ಫುಲ್ ಒಪ್ಪೋಲ. ಗೋಡೆ ಸರಿಗ್ ನಿಲ್ಬೇಕ್ ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಪ್ರತಿ ಇಟ್ಟಿಗೆನು ಮುಖ್ಯ ಅಲ್ವ..? ಏನ್ ಹೇಳ್ತಿರ.. (ಡೈಲಾಗ್ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿದೆ ಅಂತ ಹಾಗ್ ಹೇಳಿದನ ಅಥವ ನಿಜವಾಗಿ ಹಾಗ್ ಯೋಚಿಸ್ತಿನ ಅಂತ ಮಾತ್ರ ಕೇಳಬೇಡಿ :) )

ನನ್ journey ಹೇಗಿತ್ತು ಅಂತ ಹೇಳ್ದೆ. ನಾಟಕದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಹೇಳೋಕ್ಕೆ ಇನ್ನು ವಿಷ್ಯ ಇದೆ. ರಿಹರ್ಸಲ್ ಹೇಗಿರುತ್ತೆ , ನಮ್ ಡೈರೆಕ್ಟರು ಹೇಗೆ ಉಗ್ದು ಉಪ್ಪಿನಕಾಯಿ ಹಾಕ್ತಾರೆ ಅಂತ ಹೇಳ್ಬೇಕು... ಆದ್ರೆ ಅದ್ಕೆ ಬೇರೆ ಆರ್ಟಿಕಲ್ ಬರಿತಿನಿ. ಸದ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಇಷ್ಟು ಸಾಕು..

ಈ ಹೊಸಬೆಳಕು ನಾಟ್ಕ ನನ್ನಲಿ ಹೊಸಬೆಳಕು ಮೂಡ್ಸುತ್ತ..ಕಾದು ನೋಡ್ಬೇಕು..

ps: looking forward to more articles from you santosh!

Abba...Cast Ready!

I can finally heave a sigh of relief! The most painfully difficult part of who is playing who is finally done! I must confess that I had quite a few sleepless nights pondering over who will play Vatsala or who will walk into Raj Kumar’s shoes as Ravi(somber expression) .

Ha! Now if you fell for that one, you don’t know a thing about casting! Casting is like playing god! I pick you, I drop you, more like god deciding you are born now, and you are dead now! As a silent observer I loved being part of that evil game called casting!

Now lets talk about the people who made it into the inner circle of fire (ooh..aah’s melodramatically)

Vatsala the woman with all the woes in the world is played by Surabhi. Needless to say Surabhi fits the bill perfectly. Minus the bitter temper, with some one chanting “ shanta shanta” our girl gets into character with an ease that will even put the famous starlet Sarita to shame!

As far as Naveen is concerned “ yelli bachhitkondidyo kallnanna magane! Hogli bidu atleast eeg ladro sikkadyalla! “. All our man needs to do is get his lines and get that ridiculous beard off!! People will eat out of his palms and call him Raj Kumar incarnate.

Pradeepa and Sharmila; the ever bickering,” madly in love couple” play the part of my favorite characters; Gopal Rao and Rajeshwari.

Calm, composed, sookshma, sambhavita huduga , these were the pre-requisites for Gopal Rao and these also happen to be the pre-requisites of our boy Pradeepa!

Sharmila is a darling in real life, very unlike the bossy, boorish character Rajeshwari. Her killer glances and bitter words on stage would make you think otherwise but offstage she is a sweetheart! ( winks)

This is just one half of the cast; I still haven’t discussed the people who will hold the play together!

When will I talk about them?

Swalpa thadkoli saar!

ps: I still haven’t even started!!!

Why Work with Nakane Moole!!

It was around 5 months back that I got a call from Satish. It was about a play and if I would be interested in being a part of it. This marked the beginning of “Hosabelaku”

It was this one conversation that took us down memory lane, to a time of innocent dreams and kindled spirits. Bembidada Bhoota our first production was all that and more, and the very idea of being part of a similar endeavor got me all excited.

All those people who have ever been part of a theatre production know that it is an instant head rush; the high varies depending on the role you play in the production. For an actor it is the very idea of being able to convince an audience that his character is similar to a cliché an audience can relate to, for the director it is his vision shaping up and for a production guy like me it is the constant hustle to get things organized. Strange is the sense of power when you are the most sought out man in the reversals!

When I recall those "sepia toned days of Bembhidida Bhoota" , I am overwhelmed.

I would travel all the way from Whitefiled to Basavangudi to Satish's house for rehearsals’, and take all physical strain just to be part of the play. The honor of working with established television big shots like Mukta Nanjunda and Satish Chandra was thrilling and I have learnt a lot in almost every aspect of theatre, from how to decipher a scene and construct it dialogue by dialogue to how to get cracking on the sets! I learnt it all thanks to them.

In Theatre the fun part is not the part when you are on stage, but the times during rehearsals. It is no one man’s show but one man’s vision implemented by like minded people.

“Keep your faith in people, and you will have a good show” this has been the motto for fourth corner productions. I started of as a complete novice and now know all the nitty-gritty’s of theater. Fourth corner is solely responsible for that growth. Sometimes a little belief in ones abilities can take you a long way.

Fourth corner productions put that faith in me. They were persistent with their faith and have had me in all their productions ever since.

Coming back to the question “why work with nakane moole”? The answer is simple because it is fun working with fourth corner productions! Be it cast OR crew (mann hottawaru) fourth corner production provides you with ample opportunities to explore your talent. We work with a mix of established and fresh talent, bunch of amazingly different people! On days when the stress of handling a production gets to us, we always have Chandan Bar and restaurant (wink, wink)

If you want to have fun and meet a bunch of extremely talented people! Come join us now!

Ankita Nama : Drushyakke Wapas Barona aka Rebel Star Ambarish