The pre-release website for the production www.dhyutathegame.com
proclaims

“Dhyuta the Game…. “Whatever is here is found elsewhere; whatever is not here is nowhere else”. Torn from the pages of Mahabharata, the most gripping epic story of all times, this dance ballet enlivens the intricate emotions of the characters through a collage of various dance forms like Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattom, Kathak and contemporary fusion. Dhyuta, the game; a spellbinding presentation!

An attempt at interpreting a crucial episode from Mahabharata in a different perspective, and at the same time striving to present it in a new format making use of the best of Dance, Drama and music. This dance drama has been weaved using India's rich classical dance forms to express myriad emotions and dramatic moments of the classic epic Mahabharata. The confluence of best dancers, musicians and choreographers ensure a stylish as well as powerful presentation of this epic story” as it sets the stage for this grand event.

 The techno-needs for the presentation was complex enough to challenge the expertise of many a great light and sound technicians and the cast and crew deserve a big applause for their effort. The event was held at the Ashland high school, in Ashland Ma on 22nd June 2008.

“The idea came to us nearly a year ago when I read a page from the works of a famous Malayalam writer, M.T Vasudevan Nair which was dedicated to the Draupadi Vastraharan episode. Later when I discussed the thought with Shimna and Sameer Ramkrishnan they were really excited about the project and we worked together to make this creation” says Rajesh Menon who wrote the script for the production.

“After the creation of the script, we worked with Manish Kurup to create the background score. Manish blended popular songs like Mahaganapathim and The Chase from Morning Raga, I am India (Ram Sampat), Dhum Dhum (Vidyasagar) , Dheem Ta Dare (A.R Rehman) with his own music to create this fabulous score. Harshal Tole provided the Tabla support. Finally we had a pre-recorded narration that was superimposed on the score ” says Shimna Sameer who played the role of Draupadi and along with Deepa Rajesh who played the role of Duryodhana and choreographed the production.

The dancers were beautiful and wore very colorful costumes. Natya rather than Nritta or Nrithya was used for most of the production.    Anoop Ninan served as the narrator to knit eight scenes together.

As is wont in a presentation of classics with a “different perspective”, the script focused on highlighting the weakness of the protagonists of Mahabharata including Yudhishtira, Arjuna and Bheeshma. The game of dice beautifully depicted by Shreya Arumugam (Shakuni) and Yudhishitra (Amrita Mangalat) showcased the Abhinaya ability of these two wonderful dancers. Shimna as Draupadi brought forth the forceful and dignified personality of the great queen who maintained her dignity despite being placed in a very difficult situation and Deepa Rajesh as Duryodana was able to bring out the inner torment of this character.  Shiby Pradeep as Dhritarashtra,  Geena Anand as Dussasana, Rajini Kaimal as Bheema, Pooja Arumugham as Pratikami brought out the essentials of the character. The line choreographies for the short dance pieces used in the presentation were wonderful.

The voices of Sonu Abraham, Rajesh Menon, Shimna Sameer, Manish Kurup, Dhanagopal Sivaraman, Sameer Ramkrishnan, Vasanth Murthy and Harshal Tole did a fine job to bring the characters to life.

Thinking out-of-the-box and creating something new is a risk that few are willing to take and Lokvani congratulates Vivriti Ventures for taking that  risk and the dedication and hard work that the team had put in to make an entertaining presentation.

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