No strings attached: Anurupa Roy wants to stimulate children’s imagination through The Maharaja of Mastipur

Maharajas usually symbolise valour and pride who strive to serve and protect their kingdom. But The Maharaja of Mastipur, a new play for kids between six to nine years, gives a twist to this concept and shows a fun-loving king who loves to play pranks on his subjects, friends and family. Conceived by Anurupa Roy, the show, which involves music, dance, animation, shadow puppetry and masked puppeteers, is performed by members of her company — Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust — and presented by Guppy Theatre.

Anurupa says, “The idea came from Crossover Media who are producing the play. They have a book by the same name, which is a collection of short stories. Plans were afoot to make an animation film on it. So, we had a whole conversation about incorporating it with shadow puppetry. These two streams are closely related. Animation comes from shadow puppetry. The first animation clip in the early 1900s in Europe came from a shadow puppet piece. So, it was exciting to explore that possibility. The play uses the animation from the film that Crossover Media had made and our shadow puppet cutouts.”

Anurupa, who has played a pivotal role in creating awareness about puppetry through her company, is hopeful that the play will strike a chord with kids. She adds, “Though the popular belief is that kids like a whole lot of colour and music, at the end of the day they like a good solid story.”

She maintains that such shows are pertinent in today’s age when kids are raised in nuclear families and are exposed to technology at an early age. The 41-year-old elaborates, “Today, in most nuclear families as both the parents are working, kids miss the daily dose of storytelling. Moreover, they are exposed to limited number of children’s films and animation on television across the world, most of which is dubbed. So, an Indian story with a maharaja but a contemporary touch should resonate with them.”

Working on this show has been a learning experience for Anurupa whose last major production, Mahabharat, won the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards for best play and direction in 2017. “We are using multiple screens to do shadow projection. Normally, shadow puppetry involves a flat screen, where you create shadows and the audience can see the projection. But we chose to have five layered LED screens. So you see multiple projections on a screen, which gives it a 3D effect.”

The young ones are invited on stage to interact with the actors, to add a twist to the tale. “The idea is to include them in the proceedings actively and stimulate their imagination. Passivity is a growing phenomenon in children as they are constantly using iPad or mobile phones. We don’t want children to be passive members of the audience while watching the show. In this play, we use overhead projectors to throw the shadows. Sometimes, the kids can see and realise that the shadow is being created on the spot. Moreover, we want the medium to be accessible. We want them to go home and create shadows with their hands on the walls,” signs off Anurupa.

The Maharaja of Mastipur premieres on December 24 at Prithvi Theatre, Juhu, at 4 pm and 7 pm.