Stage dazzles but story stumbles in NSD’s Samudra Manthan, review says

Visual spectacle overshadows narrative clarity

The National School of Drama repertory’s staging of Samudra Manthan opens with Natyashastra author Bharat Muni taking the stage with his 100 children to seek Brahma’s permission to create theatre. Vedic chants fill the venue as a large 3D image of Shiva appears in the background, dancers perform and hymns are sung.

Suddenly the celebration comes to a standstill. The fourth wall breaks as a group of young people enter the stage, expressing their reluctance to participate in the drama. The opening is followed by a battle scene between Indra and the demons.

Indra’s elaborate costume, his weapon vajra and his majestic white elephant, Airavat, establish his power and grandeur. "The intricately crafted costumes, with Indra brandishing his vajra, make for an arresting visual," the review notes.

Highlights of craft

Samudra Manthan is described as visually stunning, with stagecraft complementing its costumes. The battle sequences, props and the demons are among the production’s highlights. Indra’s entrance on Airavat, flanked by apsaras and dancers, steals the show.

The attention to detail is remarked as remarkable, especially with regard to the characters of Airavat and Vasuki. "Vasuki’s length as it coils around the mountain is impressive to behold." Depicting the churning of the ocean on a stage is a difficult feat to pull off, but the NSD repertory rises to the challenge.

The choreography of the demons, their entry from beneath the stage, followed by their introduction through rhythmic movements and chants, was almost hypnotic. The production also shines in costume, music and acting departments.

Narrative concerns

Despite the spectacle, the review finds the storytelling uneven. "The somewhat chaotic setting and abrupt transitions come at the cost of narrative clarity." The play-within-a-play device, a narrative technique used in works from Shakespeare to the Mahabharata, could have been more effective.

"The narrative framing of Bharat Muni’s story and its link to the mythological story feel uneven in parts, preventing the two from coming together seamlessly to tell a larger tale," the review says. "However, what Samudra Manthan lacked in storytelling, it made up for in the costume, music and acting departments."

The production’s idea of using a Puranic tale to underscore modern crises that plague the world "fails to land convincingly." The reviewer concludes the drama would have felt more complete had it been accompanied by more coherent storytelling.