Carrying on the legacy: Ritwik Simha in a still from a play
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Being the son of the late theatre and film personality CR Simha, theatre seems to be in Ritwik Simha’s DNA. He blames it on a small role in Brecht’s Chalk Circle, when he was still a child, which got him hooked.
As he grew older, he started portraying complex characters. He studied theatre while working with his father and veterans such as MS Sathyu.
Ritwik and his wife, Jasleen, now manage Vedike the theatre group founded by his father. The year 2023 is a special one as Vedike completes 40 years and June 16 marks his father’s 80th birth anniversary.
“We were planning to commemorate it with a double celebration. We wanted to do something unique, not a stereotypical event that would be marked off on the calendar.” It was this that prompted the idea of a year-long festival — Vedike-40 CR Simha 80,” says Ritwik.
CR Simha in a still from a play
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
The aim of the festival, explains Ritwik, is to stage plays that will rekindle not only the memories of his father but also his legacy. “The theatre festival will see some of the greatest hits and classics, synonymous with CR Simha and Vedike, come alive on stage.”
The festival kicked off on Sankranti with his famed play Tuglaq, says Ritwik, who has directed over 50 plays for groups, schools and colleges including, Mahesh Dattani’s Final Solutions, Kuvempu’s Kurukshetra, Shakespeare’s Macbeth and A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream. Ritwik has also directed a feature film, Rasarishi Kuvempu, a biopic based on the life of Karnataka’s great poet. The film won the State Award in the best film category.
Ritwik has started the Vedike Natakashaale, offering a free, two-year diploma in Theatre Arts, with focus on the Natyashastra, Indian acting methodologies, history of Indian and world theatre.
Vedike-40 CR Simha 80 will stage a play every second Saturday at KH Kala Soudha (Hanumathnagar) and every fourth Saturday and Sunday at Vyoma (JP Nagar). Tickets are available at the venue and on BookMyShow.
