News By: Deena Yasmeen Abdul Ghaffar
Editor: Ravivarma Muniandy
Source: Sharveshwaran S/O Ramarau
BANGI, March 20 - Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)’s Malam Teater Kesenian IV gained high praises from “Venpa” film director, Mr. K. Kavi Nanthan, when he lauded the high-quality acting and production by the students of the Indian Representative Council (PMI).
Malam Teater Kesenian is an annual theatre production conducted by the students of PMI, based on certain social themes in the Tamil language to foster a sense of belonging within the Indian community in UKM.
Malam Teater Kesenian IV’s title production this year, Aaruvathu Sinam (Reduce Your Anger), carries a theme of anger management and bullying, which highlights the social plights of the current generation.
The opening ceremony was officiated by the Vice President of Lim Kok Wing University, Dr. Kishva Ambigapathy and the Director of Malaysian hit film “Venpa”, Mr. K. Kavi Nanthan.
Mr. Kavi Nanthan said that he was blown away by the talents of the theatre performance.
“Hats off to the director. He has a good sense of direction and was able to assign the right characters to the right actors. It was an amazing show, I was blown away.”
Mr. Kavi Nanthan said that he had plans of potentially asking some of the student actors to star in his next movie production.
“I will be rolling my next movie in September, so I might conduct an audition [for the students]. Some of them might receive a call from me.”
Malaysian TV host and actress, Hemalata Gnanaprakasam (Hema Ji), sang praises of the actors’ performances.
“There are a few characters that I would like to highlight, a tomboyish girl, a scout and an autistic boy whose performances were very heart-touching. Everyone took their own initiatives to not just memorize their scripts but to also live through their characters.”
Ajitha Apsra Surash (Economics), who plays the tomboy in the production, said that this was the first time she played an acting role and that everyone involved was the reason she succeeded.
“This is the first time I’m acting and I didn’t know I could actually do it. I was so nervous backstage. Everyone was helping us [actors] prepare, [the production] is nothing without them actually.”
When asked about the potential talent scouting from Mr. Kavi Nanthan, Yashirdisai Sampasivam (Genetics), who plays the autistic boy that gets bullied, said that he is unsure what the future holds but is hoping to grow his acting capabilities.
“I’m not sure how I feel about it as it is sudden, but I hope that we [the actors] can grow this talent that we have. However, we need more time to do so because we are still studying.”
