Miss Sevanti

Based on Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, Sevanti Prasanga plays on the complex business of human relationships in a social world. Phonetics Professor Bhargava Shastry tutors the very cockney Sevanti, not only in the refinement of speech, but also in the refinement of her manner. When the end result produces a very ladylike Miss Sevanti, the lessons learned become much more far reaching.

 

For a number of months, Bhargav Shastry trains Sevanti to speak properly. Many trials for Sevanti follow. Finally Bhargav Shastry succeeds in making sevanti win the title Miss Sevanti. Behaviors of both Sevanti and Bhargav Shastry after this victory forces us to ask the following: Is the male artist the absolute and perfect being who has the power to create woman in the image of his desires? Is the woman necessarily the inferior subject who sees her lover as her sky? Does beauty reflect virtue? Does the artist love his creation, or merely the art that brought that creation into being?

 

Sevanti Prasanga which was performed at Abhinaya – 2012 National Theatre Festival was adjudged as the Best Play of the Year 2012 and swept major awards in the categories like Best Director, Best Actress, Best Comedian and Best Lighting.