Veteran theatre personality N. Muthuswamy, founder of the avant garde theatre group Koothu-p-pattarai, died in Chennai on Wednesday. He was 82.
Muthuswamy, founded the theatre group in 1977 after several years of studying traditional folk theatre. In an interview to The Hindu in 2008, Muthuswamy said that he remembered being ‘swept off his feet’ when he saw a theru-k-koothu — street theatre — performance in the early 1970s, which prompted him to delve deeper into it.
“He developed and established a new language to theatre and took theatre beyond mediocrity and frivolousness. With his unique playwriting style, Muthuswamy wrote plays in varied genres where he held a mirror to contemporary society and the play ‘England,’ is one of my favourite works of his,” said Pralayan, playwright, director and founder of the Chennai Kalai Kuzhu.
Pralayan recalled how, while it was the norm to have actors enter either from the right or left of the proscenium, Muthuswamy conceived of a vertical entry in a few of his productions where the actors came on stage from the roof, having been tied to ropes.
Alumni reminisce
Actors Vijay Sethupathi, Guru Somasundaram, Kalarani, Vinodhini Vaidyanathan,Vemal,Vidharth and Pasupathy are among the notable alumni of the theatre group who have gone on to work in the Tamil film industry.
A member of one of the earliest batches of Koothu-p-pattarai, actor Pasupathy, who worked with them for over 14 years, credited Muthuswamy as his mentor in every aspect of life.
Actor Guru Somasundaram, who was with Koothu-p-pattarai for over 10 years, said that the environment in the group which was created by Muthuswamy ensured that they all not just learnt acting, but grew as better human beings.
Tributes pour in
In a video statement, actor Kamal Haasan condoled Muthuswamy’s death
DMK president M.K. Stalin said Muthuswamy had given the world of theatre a modern perspective. “I hope that the artists he helped mould, take his vision forward,” he added.