Eight-hour play on Mahabharata this weekend in Bengaluru

Adapted and directed by Prakash Belawadi, the play will feature 30 actors in 167 roles. Prakash, Keerthi Bhanu, Siri Ravikumar, Teju Belawadi, Divya Raghuram and Vijay Kulkarni are part of the cast. The set design is by Shashidhara Adapa. 

‘Parva’ is a different take on the Mahabharata — the characters are confronted with moral dilemmas, manipulated by power, while on the quest for dharma. The epic is presented in a way that myth is replaced by realism. For example, in this work, Krishna is not seen as a god. 

The eight-hour play will be performed in five acts, and include four intervals. “The length of the play is something I have never explored before. The longest play I have been a part of was 3 hour 45 minutes long,” says Prakash.

He worked on the English translation in 2023. Adapting Bhyrappa’s magnum opus to English “was a unique experience”, he adds. Prakash has translated U R Ananthmurthy’s ‘Avasthe’ in English earlier.

The play in English was last staged in October. 

Parva, May 11 and 12, 10 am, J N Tata Auditorium, Malleswaram. For details, call 98865 92881. Tickets available online.