Some Roots Grow Upwards [Review on InfoChange India Forum]

Some Roots Grow Upwards
the theatre of Ratan Thiyam

Directed by Kavita Joshi and Malati Rao
2002; English and Manipuri with subtitles; 51 mins; colour

This film on the theatre of Ratan Thiyam is timely, not simply because Manipur and the growing violence against Manipuris has been in the news, but also because Thiyam’s unique experiments with theatre and his startling productions need to be more widely seen and acknowledged.

Kavita Joshi and Malati Rao take the viewer into the Chorus Repertory Theatre and we watch as Thiyam develops his production of Ritusamharam, which explores the relationship between humans and nature through the work of the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa. Thiyam trained at the National School of Drama in Delhi and then returned to his native Manipur to work with and strengthen traditional theatre modes and techniques.

Thiyam’s Ritusamharam is a lyrical examination of the human predicament and differs somewhat from his earlier works where he takes on violence more explicitly. The spectacular but poignant Chakravyuha deals with.....

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