Malayalam scenarist and theatre practitioner Gopan Chidambaram on writing ‘Thuramukham’ and ‘Iyobinte Pusthakam’

Gopan Chidambaram during ‘Thuramukham’ movie shoot
| Photo Credit: AJ JOJI

Watching Rajiv Ravi’s critically-acclaimed historical drama Thuramukham, which streams on SonyLiv from April 28, is like being a fly on the wall, witnessing first-hand the struggle that thousands of Cochin port workers went through for generations to earn labour rights. The characters and the story are written with such care and depth that you can’t help be immersed in the epic tale. This is largely thanks to Gopan Chidambaram, who scripted the movie based on the play of the same name that his father, playwright and school teacher K. M. Chidambaram, wrote in 1968.

Also read |‘Thuramukham’ movie review: Rajeev Ravi’s film is an important document of the struggles to unionise for rights

From stage to silverscreen

A photo of the rehearsal of the play Thuramukham from 2018
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

“The original play was a domestic drama set in the highly political backdrop of 1953 Mattancherry, which witnessed a police firing that killed three port union workers and injured several others,” says Gopan, a faculty member at the Theatre department of Sree Sankaracharya Sanskrit University, Kallady.

Although the play was published in 1971 and had several readings during the Seventies, it was not performed on stage during his father’s time. Gopan recalls how veteran theatre writers and artists used to visit his father to persuade him to let them stage it. “Playwrights from that era were possessive about their work. I think he wasn’t convinced by any of them. So, it was never performed on stage back then,” he adds. However, Gopan resurrected the play in 2018 and staged it for the first time at Uru Art Harbour in Mattancherry, with local residents playing the lead characters.

Actor Poornima Indrajith as Umma (mother) in Thuramukham 
| Photo Credit:
AJ JOJI

While the play is set entirely in 1953 at the time of the police firing, the movie delves deeper into the sociopolitical setting that led to the 1953 incident. “We wanted to flesh out the historical setting and political atmosphere surrounding the incident. So, we began with a story of a family involving a father, a mother, two sons and a daughter, starting from the time when the port was being built in 1930,” says Gopan.

The movie explores in-depth the inhumane Chappa system that forced port workers to physically fight to get hold of copper coins thrown by gang leaders into the crowd. Getting one of the coins gave them the right to a particular amount of work and pay that day. It narrates how this violent and exploitative system changed through years of the workers’ struggle, culminating in the police firing.

Brecht’s disciple

Scripting an epic tale spanning more than two decades is not an easy task for any writer. However, this is not the first time that Gopan has pulled it off. He also wrote the script of Amal Neerad’s 2014 period drama Iyobinte Pusthakam , which again told the story of a struggle — a fight for the land against those who were exploiting it for profit and power.

A screenshot of Lal as Iyob and Fahadh Faasil as Aloshy from Iyobinte Pusthakam
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Despite both his films being period dramas, Gopan clarifies that his intention was never to write a movie of a particular genre. “I find that historical themes come naturally to me as a writer, and I love working with history, partly because I am an admirer of [Bertolt] Brecht’s plays and the use of historicisation in his plays. I have tried to emulate that in my works as well,” he explains.

This is evident in Gopan’s adaptation of real-life incidents (such as the 1953 police firing) and personalities, such as the inclusion of activists-turned-politicians K T Punnose and Rosamma Punnose as characters in Iyobinte Pusthakam, and union leaders P Gangadharan and Santo Gopalan in Thuramukham.

In Brechtian ‘Epic Theatre’ movement, historicisation is a powerful tool to comment on contemporary social or political issues using a historical context, something we can see in both of Gopan’s scripts. “The socio-political themes that I have tried to explore in these scripts demanded a historical treatment. Historicising incidents and characters is an effective way of getting an idea across to the audience. When a person with a strong political mooring such as Rosamma Punnose appears in a story, it is clear to the audience what she stands for and what the story itself is trying to say,” he adds.

Approaching history

Gopan Chidambaram (centre) with actors who played the port workers in ‘Thuramukham’
| Photo Credit:
AJ JOJI

Speaking of history, Gopan believes that our society cannot move forward without looking back at the past. He adds, “ Thuramukham is the story of the workers’ struggle for self-respect and basic rights. This is relevant, considering how unfairly our society, especially those who are privileged, treats manual labourers and other workers now. Whatever rights that workers from all levels of society have today are the result of a long and ongoing struggle by workers. It was necessary to historicise that struggle and showcase it to the current generation.”

Moreover, at a time when history is a contentious topic in India, Gopan believes writers and artists have a huge responsibility when dealing with historical subjects. “We are now seeing history being recreated and manipulated. I personally believe artists need to be aware of these manipulations and take extra care when dealing with history in their work.”

Thuramukham will stream on SonyLiv from April 28, 2023.