National award winning Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, who has essayed varied roles in Hindi and Tamil films, is all set to make a comeback to theatre with a Malayalam play ‘Chayamukhi’ playing the character of ‘Bheema’ from the epic ‘Mahabharata’.
This would be the versatile actor’s first full length Malayalam play. He had earlier portrayed the role of Karna in ‘Karna Bharam’ by the noted playwright Kavalam Narayana Panickar.
This is the first venture of ‘Kalidasa Visual Magic’, a production house promoted jointly by Mohanlal and another well-known Malayalam actor Mukesh , who plays the role of demon king ‘Keechaka’.’Chayamukhi’ will be first staged at Kerala’s cultural capital Thrissur during March first week. After seeing the response, it would be taken to other cities in the state and in the country, Mukesh said in Kochi.Both the actors liked the play’s storyline and decided to do it. “The aim is to come out with good plays with simple storyline sans any absurdity. It should be an entertainer which would draw people back to the theatre,” the actor said.The play revolves around a magical mirror ‘Chayamukhi’, gifted to Bheema by demon princess Hidumbi. The mirror never reflects the person, but the image of the beloved. If it was Draupadi for Bheema, it was Arjuna for Draupadi, he said.Taking the story thread from the epic ‘Mahabharata’, playwright Prashant Narayanan has woven themes of unreturned love and celebration of life. The play is a reflection of contemporary life, he said.