Director reflects on two-decade journey of Kannada adaptation of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’

One of the most loved musicals across the world, Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein, originally a Broadway sensation, delves into the themes of family, faith, and the tension between tradition and modernity. The musical found a new life in a local setting with its Kannada adaptation Jathegiruvanu Chandira, by Jayant Kaikini a few years ago. It was an offering to Kannada audiences to reflect on their own heritage and the challenges of change.

One of the most loved musicals across the world, Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein, originally a Broadway sensation, delves into the themes of family, faith, and the tension between tradition and modernity. The musical found a new life in a local setting with its Kannada adaptation Jathegiruvanu Chandira, by Jayant Kaikini a few years ago. It was an offering to Kannada audiences to reflect on their own heritage and the challenges of change.

Since Kaikini’s adaptation came out, senior Kannada theatre maker and actor Hulugappa Kattimani has directed Jathegiruvanu Chandira for more than five theatre troupes including prison inmates. His latest version of the play by Sankalpa, Mysuru, will be presented on August 21, at 7.30 p.m. at Ranga Shankara.   

The play relocates the characters to post-Independence India, centering around Bade Miyan, a Muslim bakery owner, against the backdrop of partition and migration. As Bade Miyan navigates the challenge of marrying off his daughters, he contends with suitors who become progressively less acceptable to him. Despite external pressures, he permits each daughter to marry the suitor of her choice, with his youngest daughter, Saira, choosing an interfaith marriage.

Meanwhile, Bade Miyan is compelled to leave his home and migrate because of partition. “In the original book the father though he accepts his daughter’s love for a man from another community, he never speaks to his daughter again. But I wanted to break that distance between the daughter and father, and I have added a scene towards the end where her father accepts her love, and meets the daughter,” says Kattimani. 

Despite showcasing more than a hundred shows by five theatre troupes over the last 20 years, in July 2022, the play made headlines as it was disrupted midway during a showcase in Shivamogga. Members of the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) forcefully entered the auditorium in Soraba taluk, and interrupted the play being performed, accusing the artists of promoting Islamic traditions, and promoting acts of inter-faith marriage and ‘Love Jihad.’

“Despite the protests that happened two years ago, we have made no changes to the play. No matter where or for whom I am directing the play for, I will never let go of Kuvempu’s thoughts on ‘Viswhwa Manava’. I believe that we are all one, and the play continues to share that message,” Kattimani adds.  

The latest production of Jathegiruvanu Chandira has been made with a set of actors all hailing from Bengaluru, including senior theatre maker and actor Mangala N.