Sevanthi Prasanga: Mind your language, desi style

The play is an adaptation of ‘My Fair Lady’ by Jayanth Kaikini

The play, Sevanthi Prasanga, directed by Sandeep Pai, and produced by the Rangasiri theatre group, is as funny as its name. This play is Jayanth Kaikini’s adaptation of My Fair Lady based on Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion.

Sevanthi, a balloon seller in the streets of Tippecross, leads a tough life. A chance meeting with Bhargava, a Kannada professor of linguistics, turns her world upside down. Bhargava is so sure of his abilities that he takes it upon himself to transform a working-class girl into someone who can pass off for a cultured member of high society. Sevanthi agrees to take speech lessons to improve her job prospects. The rest of the play is about her transformation and its consequences.

“In the process, she learns the aspects of the language associated with high society,” Sandeep, 35, says on the phone from Bengaluru. “The culture shock is the main peg. It is also about the difference between the haves and have nots. People with money may not always be happy, I wanted to bring this out subtly,” he adds.