0:00:03 > 0:00:08This is my mother and father, Laura and Geoffrey.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11When Shakespeare played, the stage was bare.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14Of temple, palace, font or stair.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Three broadswords fought the battle out.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Three supers made the rabble rout.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24They never were conventional parents.
0:00:24 > 0:00:29Here they are, doing what they loved most of all, playing Shakespeare.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32In the land they loved most of all, India.
0:00:32 > 0:00:37Here is my space, kingdoms are clay.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41When this footage was shot, in the late 1970s,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44they'd been living there for nearly 30 years.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46They ran a theatre company,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49touring Shakespeare across the subcontinent.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53And I was a part of it from the start.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56I'm Felicity Kendal,
0:00:56 > 0:01:00and I made my stage debut as a baby in India.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04I loved it as my home, until I left for England at the age of 17.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08- SHE SPEAKS HINDI - Mineral water?
0:01:08 > 0:01:12Now I'm back in the country of my childhood,
0:01:12 > 0:01:14to discover how my family's experiences
0:01:14 > 0:01:17fit into a bigger drama.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19The extraordinary tale
0:01:19 > 0:01:22of India's unexpected love affair with Shakespeare.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26My journey will bring me face to face with my family's history...
0:01:26 > 0:01:28Why did you discontinue?
0:01:28 > 0:01:30..closer to Shakespeare...
0:01:30 > 0:01:34'This is not like it is in Elizabeth Arden, I can tell you.'
0:01:34 > 0:01:37..and closer to India too.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40There's a legend that Shakespeare was born in south India
0:01:40 > 0:01:43and his original name was Shishupa Araya.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46I'll uncover a story about art and politics...
0:01:46 > 0:01:49If you think that people love Shakespeare
0:01:49 > 0:01:50and I love Shakespeare,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53that's only partially true. The truth is you hate it also.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56..passion and inspiration...
0:01:56 > 0:01:58And I think one of the reasons Shakespeare works
0:01:58 > 0:02:00is it's like our epics, you know?
0:02:00 > 0:02:02It's sort of HUGE life!
0:02:02 > 0:02:04..and what it means to belong.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06- This is your home. - So I've come back.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08You're always welcome, darling.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12Could a relationship forged in the days of Empire
0:02:12 > 0:02:16still live on in modern, maddening, marvellous India?
0:02:26 > 0:02:30My quest for Indian Shakespeare begins in Kolkata,
0:02:30 > 0:02:35or Calcutta, as we called it when I first lived here.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38I grew up in this city so I know it well.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42And I didn't know about this, but apparently there's a memorial
0:02:42 > 0:02:45or there's a plaque, or there's something to Shakespeare.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48CAR HORNS BLARE
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Whoops! Someone just went into a bus!
0:02:51 > 0:02:54- SHE LAUGHS - I love India!
0:02:54 > 0:02:56- SHE SPEAKS HINDI - I've asked him to go to the side.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01because I want to ask some people if they know anything about it.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Excuse me? Excuse me?
0:03:04 > 0:03:06Hindi bolte hain?
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Shakespeare Sarani?
0:03:08 > 0:03:12- So, Shakespeare Street? Yeah? - Shakespeare Street?
0:03:12 > 0:03:17Yahan kya hai...er, memorial, plaque to Shakespeare?
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Um, for Shakespeare?
0:03:19 > 0:03:22- Statue?- Statue, yeah!
0:03:22 > 0:03:25I don't think there is any statue of Shakespeare.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27- No Shakespeare statue? - No, I don't think.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30OK, thank you. No Shakespeare statue.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Definitely no Shakespeare statue.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Well, that's a bit of a piss, but never mind.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38I'm not going to give up, because I think there may be.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42SHE SPEAKS HINDI
0:03:42 > 0:03:45I'm asking if there's a statue to Shakespeare.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48No, he's not interested.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51He sells eggs and he says there is no Shakespeare Sarani,
0:03:51 > 0:03:52so there we go.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55When you ask people the way, they invariably don't know it.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00OK, I'm going to go and see if I can do anything on foot.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07We Kendals seem to have a nose for Shakespeare.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11I knew I'd find him in the end!
0:04:13 > 0:04:16- SHE LAUGHS - Was it worth it? I'm not sure!
0:04:16 > 0:04:19There's the little guy. "In memory of the 4th centenary..."
0:04:19 > 0:04:22CAR HORNS BLARE
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Never film in Calcutta!
0:04:24 > 0:04:26"..4th centenary of Shakespeare's birth."
0:04:26 > 0:04:27Well, there you are.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30I'm not surprised nobody knew it was here, to be honest,
0:04:30 > 0:04:32because it's hardly a memorial.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36But it's nice to know he's here, and that's just the beginning.
0:04:36 > 0:04:37Ah!
0:04:40 > 0:04:42He looks a fish out of water.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44But there's a good reason why he's here.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48Because this was once Calcutta's theatreland.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52That was in the 18th century, after the city was colonised
0:04:52 > 0:04:56by the merchants of the British East India Company.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03They came to trade, but many ended up settling.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06And one of the home comforts they brought with them
0:05:06 > 0:05:09was Western-style theatre.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13So this cemetery right in the centre of Calcutta,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16- it's full of Europeans.- Mmm-hmm.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19And these were the people that brought European theatre,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22I guess, to India for the first time.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25- Correct. - And when would that have been?
0:05:25 > 0:05:29In Calcutta, it would have been in the 1760s.
0:05:29 > 0:05:30- Good lord!- Yeah. If not earlier.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33And when would Shakespeare have come in?
0:05:33 > 0:05:38The earliest records that we have suggest 1780.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43The early shows were exclusively for expats,
0:05:43 > 0:05:45who made up audience and cast.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49At first all the actors were men, just as in Shakespeare's time.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53The first Shakespearean production in 1780 of Othello,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57which is going to be a significant play in Indian Shakespeare,
0:05:57 > 0:06:03mentions the actor who played Desdemona as a Mr H,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06"A gentleman of doubtful gender."
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Which is obviously an in joke
0:06:08 > 0:06:11for the very small community at that time.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14- Oh, Mr H! Oh, to see you now! - It's so contemporary!
0:06:14 > 0:06:16- I wonder if he's here! - THEY LAUGH
0:06:16 > 0:06:19- Poor Mr H! - We don't know the full name.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Well, he was probably a very good Desdemona, clearly.
0:06:22 > 0:06:23Must have been, yes!
0:06:23 > 0:06:25THEY LAUGH
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Is there any point where the Indians
0:06:28 > 0:06:32are actually acting with the British in a performance?
0:06:32 > 0:06:36Because there's some idea that this never happened.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40No, no, no. In fact, it was a sensation
0:06:40 > 0:06:42when it did happen in 1848.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45This Bengali gentleman, Baishnab Charan Auddy, A-U-D-D-Y,
0:06:45 > 0:06:49being cast as Othello.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51And the rest of the cast is English.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54And we have snippets from the newspapers of that time,
0:06:54 > 0:07:00and particularly two phrases that I would like to highlight for you.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03"A real, unpainted, nigger Othello,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06"who set the whole world of Calcutta agog."
0:07:06 > 0:07:11Now if that's not a sensation with, again, Othello the key play,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13I don't know what is.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18It had repeat performances. People flocked to see it.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21So within these 100 years from the 1750s to the 1850s,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25you had Shakespeare going from being performed
0:07:25 > 0:07:28only by the British for themselves,
0:07:28 > 0:07:32to Shakespeare being naturalised and accepted.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41It would be another 100 years before my family
0:07:41 > 0:07:44entered the story of Shakespeare in India.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48And Calcutta was the setting for some of my happiest memories.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53This is Sudder Street, where I grew up.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56And along here, I used to go to school
0:07:56 > 0:07:59and the place where I'm going to visit
0:07:59 > 0:08:03is an amazing and wonderful hotel where we stayed every year.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09For more than 70 years, this legendary establishment
0:08:09 > 0:08:11has been run by the same family.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13I'm nearly here.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16I'm going to meet Violet, who I've known since I was a child,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19and she's usually somewhere around the corner.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Oh, God!
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Oh, you look absolutely gorgeous!
0:08:25 > 0:08:27- Look at you!- You're most welcome!
0:08:27 > 0:08:29You look younger than when I last saw you!
0:08:29 > 0:08:33My secret is all my lovely toy boys I got rid of.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36- You got rid of them? - Yes, and I'm getting a new set.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38THEY LAUGH
0:08:38 > 0:08:41- I'm 91.- You're not!- I am!
0:08:41 > 0:08:43It's wonderful.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45Oh, I tell you, I remember coming here
0:08:45 > 0:08:46when I was probably five or six.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48What I remember, and I thought they were wonderful,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51- they used to have snake charmers that used to come.- That's right.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53And you could buy a mongoose or not,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57which was a bit gruesome, and have the mongoose killed, or not.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01'The adventures that brought us to the Fairlawn began in 1944,
0:09:01 > 0:09:08'when my parents toured India with ENSA, the army entertainment outfit.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11'After the war they returned with their own company.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16'A motley assortment of actors, some British, some Indian,
0:09:16 > 0:09:20'including my big sister, Jennifer, and yours truly.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23'We travelled far and wide,
0:09:23 > 0:09:27'playing Shakespeare to Indian audiences
0:09:27 > 0:09:31'in schools, theatres and even Maharajah's palaces.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36'Later, our experiences inspired this film, Shakespeare Wallah,
0:09:36 > 0:09:38'in which I acted alongside my parents.'
0:09:38 > 0:09:42Don't you want to see the wide, wide world?
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Plenty of chances there for a bright girl.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47'The film changed the course of my life.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50'It was the catalyst for me to leave India for a new career in England.'
0:09:50 > 0:09:53HE WHISTLES
0:09:53 > 0:09:56'My father was furious.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58'He saw it as an act of desertion
0:09:58 > 0:10:01'and didn't forgive me for several years.
0:10:01 > 0:10:06'I broke the news to him here, at the Fairlawn.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09'And leaving India also meant saying goodbye to childhood friends,
0:10:09 > 0:10:11'including Vi's daughter, Jennifer.'
0:10:11 > 0:10:14- Oh, my darling! - It's been 47 years
0:10:14 > 0:10:17- since we've seen each other! - Is it really?
0:10:17 > 0:10:19When you left Bombay to go to England.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21To do your thing.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23God, we're not that old! It can't be!
0:10:23 > 0:10:24It can't be 47 years!
0:10:24 > 0:10:27I'm just having a little weep! I'm crying!
0:10:27 > 0:10:31We had wonderful, wonderful times, and we were very, very naughty.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34- Very naughty! - We had a wonderful time.
0:10:34 > 0:10:35Did we smoke in those days?
0:10:35 > 0:10:38- I think we did have our first cigarette.- Did we?
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Well, I certainly had my first cigarette in one of these rooms!
0:10:41 > 0:10:42- SHE LAUGHS - I'm not quite sure!
0:10:42 > 0:10:44Probably on the veranda in those days!
0:10:44 > 0:10:46No, but when we used to come, I was always as a child
0:10:46 > 0:10:49- rather nervous when everyone was checking out.- Sure.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53- Because my dad very often didn't have enough money.- He always paid.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Did he? Oh, good. The difference is, he loved it here
0:10:56 > 0:10:58and he always wanted to come back.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01I think of all the places all over India,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05this was the place that they thought was home.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Well, this IS your home. You're always welcome, darling.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25Wow, this is bringing back some memories.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27I remember up on the roof, open air,
0:11:27 > 0:11:30very early in the morning, we used to rehearse.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32My father would take all his actors up there
0:11:32 > 0:11:36and rehearse The Merchant Of Venice or something like that.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38Along here, we used to stay in these rooms.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Round the corner is the big, large room
0:11:41 > 0:11:43where my father used to put on shows
0:11:43 > 0:11:46for the members of the public who happened to be trapped.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50This hotel was really like my first home,
0:11:50 > 0:11:54and strange enough, this is also where I left to go to England
0:11:54 > 0:12:00when I was 17, having never been there since I was a baby.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04So this was my passage from India, if you like.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06It started here.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08So I left one home to try and find another.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11I have to say, I like this one better.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Calcutta was my first Indian home, and Shakespeare's too.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27But it wasn't long before the word began to spread.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35I've travelled west to Delhi,
0:12:35 > 0:12:39which succeeded Calcutta as the capital of British India.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41By the 19th century,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44the East India Company was extending its reach.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Backed by the British Government,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51they weren't afraid to use force to secure their interests.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54After claiming new territory,
0:12:54 > 0:12:58they recruited locals to administer their emerging Empire.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02This laid the foundations for the Indian Civil Service
0:13:02 > 0:13:06and created a demand for educated Indians.
0:13:06 > 0:13:12Shakespeare was about to take centre stage in Indian classrooms too.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16There was in fact a very heated debate
0:13:16 > 0:13:22about the kind of education the East India Company would promote,
0:13:22 > 0:13:26between what were called the Orientalists and the Anglicists.
0:13:26 > 0:13:27The Orientalists said
0:13:27 > 0:13:31education should be conducted in the mother tongues,
0:13:31 > 0:13:32and importance should be given
0:13:32 > 0:13:35to the Indian classical languages and literature.
0:13:35 > 0:13:36Naturally, yeah.
0:13:36 > 0:13:42The Anglicists said all education should be in English,
0:13:42 > 0:13:45so that it promotes an understanding
0:13:45 > 0:13:47of Western literature and Western cultures.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51Macaulay, who was the chief architect of this view,
0:13:51 > 0:13:55believed as he said in his very infamous remark,
0:13:55 > 0:14:00that a single shelf of European literature
0:14:00 > 0:14:03is worth all the literatures of the Indian languages put together.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06My goodness! The arrogance, isn't it?!
0:14:06 > 0:14:07It's the arrogance!
0:14:07 > 0:14:11'In 1835, Macaulay's policy became law,
0:14:11 > 0:14:15'and English became the official language of Indian administration.'
0:14:15 > 0:14:22And which sees Rosalind setting up her own wooing of Orlando.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24English literature courses
0:14:24 > 0:14:28with Shakespeare in a starring role were common in Indian universities
0:14:28 > 0:14:32long before they were introduced in Britain.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35But whilst he was promoted as a tool of Empire,
0:14:35 > 0:14:37no one seemed to bargain for the fact
0:14:37 > 0:14:40that Indians might actually enjoy his plays.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43- Why does he ask for a kiss? - THEY GIGGLE
0:14:43 > 0:14:46- She's disguised herself! - THEY LAUGH AND CHATTER
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Isn't that most natural, when lovers meet?
0:14:49 > 0:14:53Before long, Indians weren't only studying Shakespeare,
0:14:53 > 0:14:55they were performing him too.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57And that's when the plays really catch fire.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03I can't imagine how those first students felt
0:15:03 > 0:15:07when they first crossed paths with Shakespeare.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12So I've travelled to Dhrangadhra, in the state of Gujarat.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15This was once the royal palace.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Now it's a school.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20It was set up 20 years ago by Kanchan Kumari.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25Her husband's family once ruled the principality of Dhrangadhra.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27Which one of you is the lady of the house?
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Whence came you, sir?
0:15:30 > 0:15:32Good jattle one...
0:15:32 > 0:15:34Jattle one?
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Gentle one. Gentle, gentle.
0:15:37 > 0:15:38Gentle.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42'They're rehearsing a show of Shakespeare's greatest hits.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45'He's been on the curriculum since the school began.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47'Quite an act of faith
0:15:47 > 0:15:49'in a town where most adults don't speak a word of English.'
0:15:49 > 0:15:51- Gentle.- Mmm.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Good gentle one.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56Give me modest assurance if you be the lady of the house?
0:15:56 > 0:15:59If we were sitting in Delhi or Mumbai or somewhere,
0:15:59 > 0:16:00it would be a more obvious
0:16:00 > 0:16:03that you would be doing a Shakespeare play,
0:16:03 > 0:16:06because the language would be English.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09English being a foreign language is very obvious
0:16:09 > 0:16:11when you walk down the street.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14They'll expect you to understand Gujarati, or then Hindi,
0:16:14 > 0:16:15but never English.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18And it will be a strange English that you won't even understand.
0:16:18 > 0:16:24What on EARTH possessed you to think of teaching them Shakespeare?
0:16:24 > 0:16:27I think this makes them, in fact, step up a notch in life.
0:16:27 > 0:16:28I really do believe.
0:16:28 > 0:16:33I believe the fact of their being exposed to excellence, you know?
0:16:33 > 0:16:36It's not just little children's plays that are boring as hell,
0:16:36 > 0:16:39- but these are real things that they do and they enjoy them.- I know.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42The children get it like this. SHE SNAPS FINGERS
0:16:42 > 0:16:45You know, when you tell them the complicated plot,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48you think it's complicated because you're looking at it as an adult.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51But they are completely fresh. "Yes, I understand this story!"
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Remember, you're a girl disguised as a boy,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57in love with a man who loves her.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00You know, I think that if you learn a foreign language,
0:17:00 > 0:17:03if you are able to do something wonderful with that language
0:17:03 > 0:17:07in the initial stages, you feel easy about it.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09The lines have to be clear.
0:17:09 > 0:17:10Don't make me stop you.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Don't do all the funny mistakes that we make sometimes.
0:17:13 > 0:17:14Long sounds.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16"Fool" is a long sound. It's not "full".
0:17:16 > 0:17:18You're quite strict, though.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20I'm very strict. I'm a harridan!
0:17:20 > 0:17:23No, I mean, a lot of directors could learn from you!
0:17:23 > 0:17:27- CHILDREN:- Double, double, toil and trouble!
0:17:27 > 0:17:29This is not fire.
0:17:29 > 0:17:30This is a lion's claw.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32This is fire.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36I genuinely enjoy working with the children,
0:17:36 > 0:17:37and I think that comes across.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39So they believe it, and then they want to do it.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43And also, I suppose, you could say in a way you're working with
0:17:43 > 0:17:45- the best texts in the English language.- Absolutely.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47So if you're teaching them English...
0:17:47 > 0:17:49May as well use that as the paradigm. Absolutely.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51Why not?
0:17:51 > 0:17:53Which is the word to stress?
0:17:53 > 0:17:55- CHILDREN:- Verb! - And not the adjective.
0:17:57 > 0:18:02O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend
0:18:02 > 0:18:04The brightest heaven of invention.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08A kingdom for a stage, princes to act
0:18:08 > 0:18:11And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!
0:18:11 > 0:18:17'By the 1850s, Shakespeare had become an icon for educated Indians.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19'A passport to advancement under British rule.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22'But to the millions who didn't speak English...'
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Then let me see.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27'..he remained a closed book.'
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Good gentle one, give me modest assurance
0:18:30 > 0:18:32if you be the lady of the house.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36'That would only change when the plays were translated
0:18:36 > 0:18:38'into the native languages of India.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40'And there are hundreds of those.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55'I've come to Mysore, in the southern state of Karnataka,
0:18:55 > 0:18:57'to hear what Indian Shakespeare sounds like.
0:18:59 > 0:19:04'I remember performing with my parents in the palace here.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07'But today Shakespeare turns up in the most unexpected places.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11'Like this high security prison.'
0:19:11 > 0:19:17This is extraordinary, this story of playing Shakespeare in a jail.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21Are all the guys that do the plays really serious criminals?
0:19:21 > 0:19:25Some of the people have done a serious couple of murders.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Homicides. And they are in for them for life.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30It is surprising that very hardened criminals
0:19:30 > 0:19:33got very much fascinated
0:19:33 > 0:19:37by this idea of playing Shakespeare inside a jail.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41For I know most of the prison inmates are from the local people.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43They are not very educated.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45The extraordinary thing is, why Shakespeare?
0:19:45 > 0:19:48There are so many great and wonderful writers
0:19:48 > 0:19:50that are in India already.
0:19:50 > 0:19:55I think Shakespeare's dramas involve transformation of the mind.
0:19:55 > 0:19:56It's not just a mere play.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01'I've been given special permission to go inside the prison
0:20:01 > 0:20:04'and watch the inmates rehearse.
0:20:04 > 0:20:11'My guide is actor and director, Hulugappa Kattimani.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15'His organisation, called Sankalpa, has pioneered the use of Shakespeare
0:20:15 > 0:20:20'as a tool for rehabilitation in prisons like this.'
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Many of these men are serving long sentences for serious crimes.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37I can't begin to imagine what their life must be like.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40But it's a very long way from Stratford-on-Avon.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46HE SPEAKS KANNADA
0:20:46 > 0:20:49'I've joined Mr Kattimani's wife and daughter
0:20:49 > 0:20:51'to watch a rehearsal of King Lear,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54'translated into the local language, called Kannada.'
0:20:54 > 0:21:02HE SPEAKS KANNADA
0:21:02 > 0:21:04Lear is an Everest of a role,
0:21:04 > 0:21:07so it's no surprise that Ganesh is finding it tough.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10Before he was locked up 10 years ago for murder,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13he'd never acted in his life.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18TRANSLATION: Remember where Lear is. He's braving the rain and storm.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22He isn't out there sipping tea with a full stomach, feeling relaxed.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25You can't deliver punchy dialogue sitting like this.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28His stomach is empty.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30He has to feel what the character is feeling.
0:21:30 > 0:21:36King Lear is in a lot of conflicting emotions.
0:21:36 > 0:21:37So he has to feel that.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41In the midday heat of Mysore,
0:21:41 > 0:21:45it's hard to imagine your character in a storm on a blasted heath.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47THEY SCREAM AND LAUGH
0:21:47 > 0:21:49That's unconventional!
0:21:49 > 0:21:54But Mr Kattimani knows his actors.
0:21:54 > 0:21:55Hey!
0:22:57 > 0:23:01It is not only acting Shakespeare lines.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05He learns how to live. How to respect together.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08- How to, um...- Interact?
0:23:08 > 0:23:09Interact.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12But also it seems that they're learning not to be alone.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24They all react together, they concentrate together.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27- Totally one unit.- Yes, yes.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30And the energy from that is absolutely overwhelming.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34TRADITIONAL MUSIC PLAYS
0:23:34 > 0:23:39DRUM BEATS
0:23:39 > 0:23:44- TRANSLATION:- I had no idea about Shakespeare before.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47But Mr Kattimani used to tell us about him and his great plays.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50He used to say each and every letter in the lines in this play
0:23:50 > 0:23:53were so profound that you don't have to do anything
0:23:53 > 0:23:56except give proper meaning to the words.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58And the play will get its message across.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02My life before was very difficult.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05I used to get angry, suddenly.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07I'd lose my temper over anything and get into fights.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10Now, I'm affectionate and peaceful with people.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13Since joining the play, I've become a new person.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15Oh, my, can you see?
0:24:15 > 0:24:17This is the gentleman who's playing King Lear.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21Ganesh! What a transformation!
0:24:21 > 0:24:26I don't really remember recently being moved quite so much
0:24:26 > 0:24:32by the absolute honesty and the raw emotion
0:24:32 > 0:24:36and, quite frankly, brilliant acting,
0:24:36 > 0:24:41by a guy in for murder. No acting experience.
0:24:41 > 0:24:46And it really puts a lot of us pretentious thespians to shame,
0:24:46 > 0:24:48quite frankly,
0:24:48 > 0:24:50because he really had in some way
0:24:50 > 0:24:55developed into that person who was in that anguish.
0:24:55 > 0:25:00To be able to convey the words, the emotion, surrounded by his inmates.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03I don't think I'll ever get over it.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06I think that was pure theatre.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Translation made Shakespeare accessible
0:25:14 > 0:25:18to millions of ordinary Indians across the subcontinent.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22A Bengali version of The Merchant of Venice
0:25:22 > 0:25:25started the ball rolling in 1852.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30Other favourites included Othello, Macbeth, and The Comedy of Errors.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Some versions stayed true to the original.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39Others relocated the action to Indian settings
0:25:39 > 0:25:42and played fast and loose with character and plot.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45No crime in that, when you remember
0:25:45 > 0:25:47what liberties Shakespeare took with his sources.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49And that wasn't the only common ground
0:25:49 > 0:25:52he shared with India's home-grown storytellers.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56To find out more about those connections,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59I'm heading hundreds of miles further south
0:25:59 > 0:26:00into the rural heart of India.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02CAR HORNS BEEP
0:26:02 > 0:26:04So here we are, in the middle of absolutely nowhere.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Very busy, very wonderful.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10I'm travelling with a tiny little unit,
0:26:10 > 0:26:14unlike the enormous number of people that I used to travel with.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17We used to actually travel on buses like this.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Sometimes 25 or 30 people at a time,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24and then we would just pile all the luggage,
0:26:24 > 0:26:28four show's worth of stuff, onto the roof,
0:26:28 > 0:26:33and off we would go for sometimes 10 or 12 hours through the night.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35I'm travelling in a more civilised fashion now.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42I'm on my way to the village of Heggodu,
0:26:42 > 0:26:46in the southern State of Karnataka.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48We never came here with Shakespeareana,
0:26:48 > 0:26:52although I rather wish we had.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Around the same time that we were touring India,
0:26:55 > 0:26:59this tiny village gave birth to a revolutionary organisation
0:26:59 > 0:27:04called Ninasam, which put it firmly on India's cultural map.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08Ninasam is founded on the belief
0:27:08 > 0:27:10that great art belongs to everyone,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13the same philosophy that inspired my father's work.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15Every year they stage a Shakespeare production
0:27:15 > 0:27:20performed by the villagers here,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23in Heggodu's very impressive theatre.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34CHEERING
0:27:35 > 0:27:38- (Can I sit here?)- Yes, please.
0:27:38 > 0:27:39- They're rehearsing?- Yeah.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44The Kannada version is called Shishira Vasantha.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Shishira is winter, and Vasantha is spring.
0:27:47 > 0:27:52So we have slightly changed the name, keeping the spirit of it.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57'It was Akshara's father who dreamed up
0:27:57 > 0:27:59'this extraordinary grassroots movement.'
0:27:59 > 0:28:02The actors today that we were seeing,
0:28:02 > 0:28:05- they're not professionals, are they? - This is the real connection
0:28:05 > 0:28:06with the community,
0:28:06 > 0:28:09because these are all people who live around
0:28:09 > 0:28:12and their families come here as the audience.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16- The integral society?- Yeah.
0:28:16 > 0:28:21And for any new play that we do, we will have two full houses definitely.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23400 plus 400. 1,000 people will watch it.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36Is there ever any question?
0:28:36 > 0:28:40Do they say to you, "Why are you doing Shakespeare?"
0:28:40 > 0:28:43No, actually, they don't care whether it is Shakespeare or somebody else.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47They would care for what they get from the show.
0:28:47 > 0:28:53In India, everything should have nava rasa, the nine basic emotions.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56I mean, that is the wholeness of any work of art.
0:28:56 > 0:29:02The basic nine emotions are the heroic, the pathetic,
0:29:02 > 0:29:10the comic...and adbhutam is the wonder.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14So these are some of the elements
0:29:14 > 0:29:18which usually the Indian audience
0:29:18 > 0:29:21would think should be there in all works of art.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24So therefore, because Shakespeare contains
0:29:24 > 0:29:28all these diverse emotions within one play,
0:29:28 > 0:29:32Indians would think that Shakespeare is an Indian playwright.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35He works for the Indian sensibility.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46There's a legend that Shakespeare was born in south India
0:29:46 > 0:29:49and his original name was Shishupa Araya.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53And then he went to England, Christianised et cetera,
0:29:53 > 0:29:55and became Shakespeare.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57Mmm, there's something in it!
0:29:57 > 0:29:58Yeah, there's something in it,
0:29:58 > 0:30:00and there's something metaphorical in it,
0:30:00 > 0:30:02and there is at least some kind of an aspiration in it.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06Where people of south India want to appropriate Shakespeare as their own.
0:30:06 > 0:30:11Shakespeare in that way is a kind of bridge between two cultures.
0:30:11 > 0:30:15Through translation and adaptation,
0:30:15 > 0:30:18Shakespeare entered the bloodstream of India.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21But soon there were new heroes to follow.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24The rise of nationalism in the '20s and '30s
0:30:24 > 0:30:27returned the spotlight to Indian culture.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30As independence approached,
0:30:30 > 0:30:34Shakespeare's days in the Indian sun looked numbered.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37My parents couldn't have picked a worse time
0:30:37 > 0:30:41to launch their company, Shakespeareana.
0:30:41 > 0:30:42They'd dreamed of returning,
0:30:42 > 0:30:45ever since their wartime performances with ENSA,
0:30:45 > 0:30:48and sailed in high spirits,
0:30:48 > 0:30:51rehearsing The Merchant of Venice during the long voyage.
0:30:51 > 0:30:52But when they finally docked in Bombay,
0:30:52 > 0:30:56they found a land in turmoil.
0:30:56 > 0:31:01ANNOUNCER: India, gripped by conflict and suspense, as this vast country
0:31:01 > 0:31:05of almost 400 million people strives to find a solution to its problems.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09Offered freedom by British Prime Minister Attlee in March,
0:31:09 > 0:31:12a divided India faces its complex destiny.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15This was the backdrop to Shakespeareana's first tour,
0:31:15 > 0:31:21launched in January 1947, just seven months before independence.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23ANNOUNCER: As meeting followed meeting,
0:31:23 > 0:31:27the Muslims insisted on their demand for their own separate state
0:31:27 > 0:31:30and complete independence from the Hindu majority.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36'The move to partition India and create a new state, Pakistan,
0:31:36 > 0:31:39'sparked mass violence between Hindus and Muslims.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43'We avoided the worst of the trouble and toured for a year.
0:31:43 > 0:31:48'But then a bad situation turned worse.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52'When Gandhi was assassinated in January 1948,
0:31:52 > 0:31:59'my parents decided reluctantly it was too dangerous to continue.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03'We set sail for England, and it would be 5 years before we returned.
0:32:05 > 0:32:10'By then, the turmoil had subsided and we ended up staying for years.'
0:32:10 > 0:32:11I recognise what's going on!
0:32:11 > 0:32:14- A lot of actors getting ready for a show! - SHE LAUGHS
0:32:14 > 0:32:17'In Delhi, I've come to see a production
0:32:17 > 0:32:21'of a Midsummer Night's Dream for school children.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24'I'm thrilled to discover that this company was originally
0:32:24 > 0:32:26'inspired by Shakespeareana.'
0:32:26 > 0:32:30I used to do this every day of my life in a new space,
0:32:30 > 0:32:32- doing exactly what you're doing! - SHE LAUGHS
0:32:32 > 0:32:37We had black curtains, a few props,
0:32:37 > 0:32:39many, many, many costumes, as we had 12 or 15 plays.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42And do you have the same company that stays together?
0:32:42 > 0:32:43More or less.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46We picked up a tea planter once...carry on, carry on,
0:32:46 > 0:32:51because I know you've got a show...and we did this show,
0:32:51 > 0:32:52and he fell in love with the company.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54We went back next year and he said,
0:32:54 > 0:32:58"I'm giving up tea planting. I'm going to join your company."
0:32:58 > 0:33:00And he did. He was rather good.
0:33:00 > 0:33:01Yeah?
0:33:01 > 0:33:04- Not VERY good. - SHE LAUGHS
0:33:04 > 0:33:08- Not very good, but... - Tolerable.- Tolerable, yeah!
0:33:08 > 0:33:12I made my very first stage appearance in The Dream,
0:33:12 > 0:33:15during our first turbulent tour. I was 9 months old.
0:33:15 > 0:33:20Do not reprehend. Pardon us, and we will mend.
0:33:20 > 0:33:25'After we returned to India in 1953, I graduated to speaking roles.'
0:33:25 > 0:33:28O, why rebuke you him that loves you so?
0:33:28 > 0:33:31Lay breath so bitter on your bitter foe.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33'And settled into the nomadic lifestyle
0:33:33 > 0:33:36'that would shape the rest of my childhood.
0:33:36 > 0:33:41'I rarely studied at the same school for more than a few weeks.
0:33:41 > 0:33:47'But what was fun for a child must have been hard slog for my parents.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49'An endless succession of late nights,
0:33:49 > 0:33:52'early mornings and non-stop travel,
0:33:52 > 0:33:55'with no guarantee of a booking to pay the bills.
0:33:55 > 0:34:01'Although their utter dedication was sometimes rewarded
0:34:01 > 0:34:03'by moments of absolute wonder.'
0:34:03 > 0:34:07I think of the numerous places we've visited in India,
0:34:07 > 0:34:11this must be the most spectacular.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15We were guests, can you believe it, of the royal family.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17And we actually performed, I think,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20once inside and then a couple of times on the terrace.
0:34:20 > 0:34:27I can hardly actually believe that I have those memories
0:34:27 > 0:34:30because they're probably the most magical
0:34:30 > 0:34:33of all the memories that I have as a child in India.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38'During the Raj, Udaipur was a princely state,
0:34:38 > 0:34:41'governed by the local royal family under licence from the British.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45'After independence, power passed to the new Indian Government,
0:34:45 > 0:34:48'although the family still enjoys a ceremonial role.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55'I have an invitation to meet the current king,
0:34:55 > 0:34:57'or Maharana as he's known.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00'And I'm travelling to the palace in great style.'
0:35:00 > 0:35:02It's sort of spooky that my parents, I remember,
0:35:02 > 0:35:04when I was very little,
0:35:04 > 0:35:08they went in splendour to the palace from the railway station.
0:35:08 > 0:35:10Whereas the rest of the company went on rickshaws,
0:35:10 > 0:35:13because obviously there were hundreds of us, well, 14.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17And we couldn't all...so there was this incredible procession
0:35:17 > 0:35:20of this amazing Rolls-Royce for my parents driving in State,
0:35:20 > 0:35:24and then the rest of the lot in the chicken class behind.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28'They still enjoy some pomp and circumstance in Udaipur.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31'Just as they did when Shakespeareana came to play.'
0:35:33 > 0:35:37I don't actually remember whether it was your father
0:35:37 > 0:35:40or your grandfather when my parents came here.
0:35:40 > 0:35:45No, you first came here during my grandfather's time in the early '50s.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48That is when your father had just started
0:35:48 > 0:35:51- to put Shakespeareana together.- Yes.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53In fact, I remember him playing Shylock,
0:35:53 > 0:35:56and he made it look as if he was
0:35:56 > 0:35:57not the villain but the hero.
0:35:57 > 0:36:02Which I think very few people can carry off.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05And also, as far as I can remember going back,
0:36:05 > 0:36:09the fashion was to play, then, Shylock as a villain.
0:36:09 > 0:36:10A definite villain.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13The bad...and he actually didn't believe that.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16Well, he was way ahead of his time
0:36:16 > 0:36:19to have thought of doing something like this.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22It just goes to show his passion for Shakespeare.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24He had two passions.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26- One was Shakespeare, and the other was India.- Any reasoning?
0:36:26 > 0:36:28Did he give you any reasoning for that?
0:36:28 > 0:36:30I don't really know why, but he just said,
0:36:30 > 0:36:34"This is something that the audiences in India respond to,"
0:36:34 > 0:36:37in a way that he found wasn't available to him.
0:36:37 > 0:36:38So I guess it was quite a selfish thing.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41He wanted that audience.
0:36:41 > 0:36:42I think you're being harsh.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44I think it was a passion.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48It was this great love, probably in a very juvenile way,
0:36:48 > 0:36:51probably not at his level.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53But at the same time, his passion for Shakespeare
0:36:53 > 0:36:58and his passion for India came together rather well.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00And then why did he discontinue?
0:37:00 > 0:37:02He didn't discontinue.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04Basically what happened is that Jennifer got married,
0:37:04 > 0:37:06and I went to England,
0:37:06 > 0:37:08and what happened was that everything changed.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12If I put it in perspective, historical perspective,
0:37:12 > 0:37:15India became independent in '47.
0:37:15 > 0:37:16The states had been merged.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18The union of India, the republic of India had come.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22And it was a transition at that time, and a lot of us,
0:37:22 > 0:37:23including Grandfather,
0:37:23 > 0:37:28were trying to get to terms with the new way of life.
0:37:28 > 0:37:33As India grew into independence, you might have thought
0:37:33 > 0:37:37Shakespeare was destined to end up like the Maharajah's Rolls.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40A splendid survivor of a vanished world.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44Indians were reconnecting with their own traditions,
0:37:44 > 0:37:48undervalued for so long by the British.
0:37:48 > 0:37:53By the 1960s, Shakespeare Wallah portrayed my father's character
0:37:53 > 0:37:59as a dinosaur of the Raj, raging against the dying of the light.
0:37:59 > 0:38:05They always laughed at all the jokes, cried at the right places.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07The most wonderful audience in the world.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09They're still the same people.
0:38:09 > 0:38:10Oh, no, they're not, Carla.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13They've changed, and we've changed too.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17I've grown old and sour.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21Actually he didn't feel like that at all.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24He never lost his faith in his mission.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26Or in his belief that Shakespeare's plays,
0:38:26 > 0:38:31performed with integrity and love, speak to any audience.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35You simply have to follow Hamlet's advice to the players.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37Speak the speech, I pray you,
0:38:37 > 0:38:41as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44But if you mouth it, as many of your players do,
0:38:44 > 0:38:47I had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines.
0:38:47 > 0:38:53'My father's passion and sheer bloody-mindedness
0:38:53 > 0:38:57'kept Shakespeareana's show on the road well into the 1970s.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59'A testament to his unswerving conviction
0:38:59 > 0:39:03'that Shakespeare could never be old-fashioned,
0:39:03 > 0:39:07'because he was timeless, and therefore, endlessly modern.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11'That conviction didn't always make for an easy life
0:39:11 > 0:39:14'for him or the rest of the family.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16'But I love him for having it.'
0:39:16 > 0:39:19What a wonderful backdrop!
0:39:19 > 0:39:23You can't really beat that in any theatre!
0:39:31 > 0:39:33DRUMS BEAT
0:39:33 > 0:39:36My father believed Shakespeare and India were a natural fit.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39But for some Indian artists, the relationship's more complicated.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44The man in the mask is Arjun Raina.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48He's a master of Kathakali, the stylized dance theatre from Kerala.
0:39:48 > 0:39:53Traditionally, Kathakali tells stories from Indian mythology.
0:39:53 > 0:39:58Arjun's work plunders Shakespeare instead.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03- If you give me a Shakespearean sentence...- All right. To be...
0:40:03 > 0:40:05Yes. To...live.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07To be.
0:40:07 > 0:40:08..or...
0:40:08 > 0:40:10- Or.- ..not...
0:40:10 > 0:40:12- Not.- ..not to be.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19He's already doing, "That is the question,"
0:40:19 > 0:40:20because you know the next bit!
0:40:20 > 0:40:23Well, there isn't a single line that I don't know!
0:40:23 > 0:40:25I can tell! I can tell!
0:40:25 > 0:40:29This is a scene from Arjun's adaptation of Othello,
0:40:29 > 0:40:32Shakespeare's tragedy about a black hero
0:40:32 > 0:40:35living in a white man's world.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38Arjun sees parallels between Othello's story
0:40:38 > 0:40:43and the identity crisis faced by many Indians
0:40:43 > 0:40:45as they square up to the colonial past.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47What did British colonisation do?
0:40:47 > 0:40:52It absolutely cut a whole people from the roots of their culture.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54Absolutely, yeah.
0:40:54 > 0:40:59And it did it in very, very cunning, very brilliant ways.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03And one of the offerings of that was the great work of Shakespeare.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05So if you think that people love Shakespeare
0:41:05 > 0:41:07and I love Shakespeare,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10that's only partially the truth. The truth is, you hate it also.
0:41:10 > 0:41:12DRUMS BEAT
0:41:12 > 0:41:14To dramatise that love-hate relationship,
0:41:14 > 0:41:18Arjun tears up the script.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22In the original play, Othello kills his wife, Desdemona,
0:41:22 > 0:41:25because he thinks she's had an affair.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28This time round, husband and wife survive.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32It's the treacherous Iago who ends up dead.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36It's like hijacking an aeroplane.
0:41:36 > 0:41:37It always gets you attention.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40- So the reason why...- Yes, yes!
0:41:40 > 0:41:42..why I have done Shakespeare is
0:41:42 > 0:41:46I'm not so interested in Shakespeare and your world.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50But I was very passionately interested in making my world
0:41:50 > 0:41:54and my beauty and my art be present in my world.
0:41:56 > 0:42:01Arjun's Kathakali take on Othello has another consequence too.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05For centuries, the lead role was usually played
0:42:05 > 0:42:08by a white actor in black make-up,
0:42:08 > 0:42:12whether it was my father or Lord Olivier.
0:42:12 > 0:42:13It is the cause,
0:42:15 > 0:42:17It is the cause, my soul.
0:42:17 > 0:42:22'But in Kathakali, everyone wears a mask.'
0:42:22 > 0:42:25I'm going to have a go at a rather old Desdemona.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27I think at my age the only way to do it,
0:42:27 > 0:42:31having played it once before, is in a mask.
0:42:31 > 0:42:35HE SPEAKS HINDI
0:42:35 > 0:42:36Iago is making me up.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41This is not like it is in Elizabeth Arden, I can tell you.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43- RECORDING:- Justice to break a sword.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47'I played some eccentric venues during my time with Shakespeareana,
0:42:47 > 0:42:51'but Arjun's rooftop theatre is up there with the best of them.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55'At least in his version of the play,
0:42:55 > 0:42:57'Desdemona lives to fight another day.'
0:42:57 > 0:43:00- RECORDING:- She wakes!
0:43:00 > 0:43:03DRUMS RATTLE
0:43:04 > 0:43:06Lady Desdemona not being murdered?
0:43:06 > 0:43:08I like this! HE LAUGHS
0:43:08 > 0:43:10Lady Desdemona getting up?
0:43:10 > 0:43:13Thank you.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15- Not easy! - HE LAUGHS
0:43:15 > 0:43:18Lady Desdemona, free.
0:43:18 > 0:43:19Iago, dead.
0:43:19 > 0:43:21Thank you! Thank you very much!
0:43:21 > 0:43:22Thank you!
0:43:22 > 0:43:25'Arjun hijacks Shakespeare to make his point.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29'But others stuck to the script to make their voice heard.
0:43:29 > 0:43:35'I've returned to Kolkata to meet theatre expert, Bishnupriya Dutt.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37'Her father, Utpal Dutt,
0:43:37 > 0:43:42'was one of India's most celebrated and controversial performers
0:43:42 > 0:43:45- 'before his death in 1993.' - Come in!
0:43:45 > 0:43:47This is their house, where my parents stayed.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50Oh, oh, my goodness! Look, there he is!
0:43:50 > 0:43:51Othello.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55'Utpal started his career with Shakespeareana.'
0:43:55 > 0:43:58- He was very young and he played... - He was in college.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01- He was in college? - First year college, yes.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03And I was little, and I remember him
0:44:03 > 0:44:09being this charismatic figure that I absolutely worshipped.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12He was funny, and he was actually also quite argumentative
0:44:12 > 0:44:13about things that were going on.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15He's written about it many times,
0:44:15 > 0:44:18that it was not really reading Marx and Engels
0:44:18 > 0:44:21which initiated him into his left ideological belief,
0:44:21 > 0:44:23but actually through Shakespeare.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25That was his first entry point.
0:44:25 > 0:44:29'After he left my parents, Utpal formed his own company,
0:44:29 > 0:44:32'inspired by his Marxist beliefs.'
0:44:32 > 0:44:35I remember my father saying, "He's written these things
0:44:35 > 0:44:37"and he's running this theatre," and he was very proud of him.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41But he was also concerned that he kept being put in jail
0:44:41 > 0:44:42because of his beliefs.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45He didn't care. He was just going to do it anyway.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48'In 1975, India was hit by political crisis.
0:44:48 > 0:44:55'Prime Minister Indira Ghandi announced a state of emergency,
0:44:55 > 0:44:57'ruling by decree for nearly two years.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00'Utpal was outraged, but censorship made it difficult
0:45:00 > 0:45:05'to stage a contemporary play which voiced his dissent.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08'So he turned instead to Shakespeare's tragedy
0:45:08 > 0:45:13'about another ruler who seizes power by force.'
0:45:13 > 0:45:15So now this is a programme, isn't it, of Macbeth?
0:45:15 > 0:45:19And this is interesting because it's written here, "Alas, poor country.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21"Almost afraid to know itself.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23"It cannot be called our mother."
0:45:23 > 0:45:25India is always called 'Mother'.
0:45:25 > 0:45:26"But our grave, where nothing
0:45:26 > 0:45:31"but who knows nothing is once seen to smile."
0:45:31 > 0:45:33It's extraordinarily fitting.
0:45:33 > 0:45:39That Shakespeare should still be so powerfully available
0:45:39 > 0:45:44to emotional, political translation of any kind all over the world.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46But it seems especially in India.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52Around the time Utpal was battling the government,
0:45:52 > 0:45:56my parents moved back to England, where I'd been living for a decade.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58They were semi-retired,
0:45:58 > 0:46:02but still returned regularly to India to perform.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04Just the two of them together now,
0:46:04 > 0:46:07playing favourite scenes and monologues.
0:46:07 > 0:46:11The only member of the Kendal clan still living permanently in India
0:46:11 > 0:46:14was my sister, Jennifer.
0:46:14 > 0:46:18The final leg of my journey brings me to Mumbai
0:46:18 > 0:46:20on the shores of the Indian Ocean.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24A city which still has strong family connections.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27I've come to Prithvi Theatre, the family theatre,
0:46:27 > 0:46:29to meet my family.
0:46:29 > 0:46:33And unfortunately, they are renovating at the moment,
0:46:33 > 0:46:35but we're going to go in and see what's what.
0:46:36 > 0:46:41The Prithvi Theatre was built by my big sister, Jennifer,
0:46:41 > 0:46:43and her husband, Shashi Kapoor.
0:46:43 > 0:46:46This is Jennifer, my sister. Your mother.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48Is there Shashi anywhere?
0:46:48 > 0:46:50- Yes, there, there.- Oh, my goodness!
0:46:50 > 0:46:52Now this is it. This is Othello.
0:46:52 > 0:46:54This is Shashi.
0:46:54 > 0:46:56'Shashi comes from one of India's
0:46:56 > 0:46:59'most distinguished theatrical families.'
0:46:59 > 0:47:00What would he be playing? Cassio?
0:47:00 > 0:47:03He's obviously playing Cassio.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06'As a 19 year-old, he acted with Shakespeareana,
0:47:06 > 0:47:07'married my sister,
0:47:07 > 0:47:11'and then went on to become one of India's biggest movie stars.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15'Jennifer died far too young nearly 20 years ago.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19'But she'd be so proud to see her children, my niece and nephew,
0:47:19 > 0:47:21'keep the family traditions alive.'
0:47:21 > 0:47:23Have we done Shakespeare here?
0:47:23 > 0:47:24- Yes.- Yes.- Oh, lots.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26In English, in Hindi, in everything.
0:47:26 > 0:47:28Some way, Shakespeare keeps coming back in.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30And I think one of the reasons Shakespeare works
0:47:30 > 0:47:33- is it's like our epics.- Yes.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36- The stories are magnificent.- Huge.
0:47:36 > 0:47:41I mean, all the things that we like culturally in India
0:47:41 > 0:47:44in stories, is emotion. The relationships and emotion.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47- Family relationships. - The moral as well.
0:47:47 > 0:47:52And actually he had a knack, and it's these emotions that work,
0:47:52 > 0:47:56because we're very emotional and we like things larger than life.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59On the other hand, it's totally honest.
0:47:59 > 0:48:00It's not melodrama.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03There isn't a second of melodrama.
0:48:03 > 0:48:04No, it's not artificial.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07It's not artificial. It's... ..it's life...
0:48:07 > 0:48:10- But it's sort of HUGE life! - But it's real.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12It's what you can identify with.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16That's why it gets adapted, and that's why it's both ways.
0:48:16 > 0:48:22You've had so many films that have been made based on Shakespeare.
0:48:23 > 0:48:28I'm going to find out more about how Shakespeare
0:48:28 > 0:48:30made it big in Indian movies.
0:48:30 > 0:48:31And I'm in the right place.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34Mumbai is the town where Bollywood was born.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41This is the famous Chor Bazaar, which translated is Thieves' Market.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45You can get anything you want, or you're supposed to be able to.
0:48:45 > 0:48:47And I'm after something very special.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49If I don't get run over first!
0:48:49 > 0:48:50- Hello!- Hello, hello!
0:48:50 > 0:48:52- Where are you from? - I'm from England.
0:48:52 > 0:48:57Besides adapting entire plays, Indian movie makers
0:48:57 > 0:49:01have never been too proud to beg, borrow or steal
0:49:01 > 0:49:04characters, plot devices or individual scenes from Shakespeare
0:49:04 > 0:49:06to spice up their own stories.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10Bollywood Bazaar! This is it!
0:49:10 > 0:49:12OK, so I have a list of old films.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16One is Chori Chori, then there's Junglee.
0:49:16 > 0:49:18Have you got anything on these?
0:49:18 > 0:49:21Chori Chori, yes. I have got the poster of Chori Chori.
0:49:21 > 0:49:23- You have? Can I see? - Yes, definitely.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26- Oh, there we go! - Raj Kapoor and Nargis.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29- Very famous. Amazing. - Yeah, very famous couple.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31So what was the story that you understand of it?
0:49:31 > 0:49:34She had played a very strong role in this movie, Nargis.
0:49:34 > 0:49:36She is very brave and very strong.
0:49:36 > 0:49:37- So she's not the obedient woman. - Exactly.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40- She is the disobedient woman. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. HE LAUGHS
0:49:40 > 0:49:43And then she decides who she wants to marry.
0:49:43 > 0:49:44Yeah, exactly, madam.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47A little bit like The Taming of the Shrew, which is Shakespeare.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49- Exactly, yeah. Oh, OK.- Do you think?
0:49:49 > 0:49:51OK, I've got another one. Uran Khatola.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54- I have the Uran Khatola poster, yes. - You have it? You are amazing!
0:49:54 > 0:49:55So this is Dilip?
0:49:55 > 0:49:59Yeah, that's Dilip Kumar. And this is Nimmi.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01There is one very funny story in this movie.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03The heroine, you know,
0:50:03 > 0:50:08she is to dress like a man to impress Dilip Kumar in this movie.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10And in the end, what happens?
0:50:10 > 0:50:14In the end, Dilip Kumar gets impressed, so they fall in love.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16He falls in love with a boy, but realises it's a girl.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19- Exactly, exactly.- That sounds a little bit like Twelfth Night.
0:50:19 > 0:50:23And do you think they knew that it was coming from Shakespeare, or not?
0:50:23 > 0:50:25- Maybe not.- Maybe not. Yeah, yeah!
0:50:25 > 0:50:27It doesn't matter. It's here.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30And I notice something else up there, looking down on us.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33- Yeah, yeah, yeah! - I cannot believe this!
0:50:33 > 0:50:35There's a bust of Shakespeare looking down from heaven.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37He's watching us do this.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40'And I wonder what he would have made of this.'
0:50:40 > 0:50:44BOLLYWOOD MUSIC PLAYS.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46It looks like classic Bollywood.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49But it's 100% Shakespeare too.
0:50:49 > 0:50:53This is a scene from Omkara, a modern day version of Othello,
0:50:53 > 0:50:56set in the remote wilds of India.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59It's one of a pair of Shakespeare movies
0:50:59 > 0:51:02made by director, Vishal Bhardwaj.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05I've come to the Eros cinema.
0:51:05 > 0:51:09When I was growing up in India, this was a regular haunt of mine.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11A wonderful place to watch films.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14PROJECTOR WHIRRS
0:51:14 > 0:51:18Before Othello, Bhardwaj adapted Macbeth,
0:51:18 > 0:51:21moving Shakespeare's Scottish play to the Mumbai underworld.
0:51:21 > 0:51:26His hero isn't a nobleman, but a gangster called Maqbool.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29This is the moment when he kills his boss.
0:51:31 > 0:51:35His stories are timeless and his basic conflicts
0:51:35 > 0:51:38deal with the basic human emotions.
0:51:38 > 0:51:40It's the jealousy, greed,
0:51:40 > 0:51:44power, love, which is very easily identifiable
0:51:44 > 0:51:46by any caste, any creed.
0:51:46 > 0:51:49So I think that's the reason
0:51:49 > 0:51:53I can adapt Shakespeare to any period of my country.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56DRAMATIC MUSIC
0:51:58 > 0:52:00Any period and any place.
0:52:00 > 0:52:03When he turned his attention to Othello,
0:52:03 > 0:52:07he relocated the tragedy to a landscape he knew well.
0:52:07 > 0:52:12I placed it in North India, where I come from.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16And it's like...you know, the Wild, Wild West.
0:52:16 > 0:52:19So I thought that to see those kind of characters
0:52:19 > 0:52:22in the mainstream Indian cinema,
0:52:22 > 0:52:26with the backing of such a strong playwright,
0:52:26 > 0:52:27can be a deadly cocktail.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32The basic story I thought, in Othello, to me,
0:52:32 > 0:52:37was a black man who has low self-esteem.
0:52:37 > 0:52:42So I had to look for the parallel of the Moor.
0:52:42 > 0:52:47And in that I found a low caste or a half-caste Brahmin.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50Brahmin is a very upper caste in India.
0:52:50 > 0:52:56But he is the mix of a Brahmin and a low caste lady.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59So he is regarded, he is respected,
0:52:59 > 0:53:01but he is always taken as a half-caste.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05BOLLYWOOD MUSIC
0:53:05 > 0:53:10Because I didn't want to alienate myself from the mainstream,
0:53:10 > 0:53:12I had to have songs.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15The only thing is, the songs have to be justified.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18And I always have problems with Bollywood films,
0:53:18 > 0:53:21that when the song comes, the story stops.
0:53:21 > 0:53:26So I try to weave the songs in such a manner that the story keeps moving.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28It should not stop.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31So if you see that she's dancing on stage
0:53:31 > 0:53:34and Iago is also dancing down,
0:53:34 > 0:53:38and Cassio's drunk, so they creates some scene.
0:53:38 > 0:53:42And I think there's a song in Shakespeare's Othello also.
0:53:42 > 0:53:46After they get drunk, they sing a song.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50So it's not just me. I think also Shakespeare used songs.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54'It's quite a journey from those early expat shows
0:53:54 > 0:53:56'to Bollywood Shakespeare.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00'Along the way he's played many parts.
0:54:00 > 0:54:06'He's been adapted, translated, plundered and hijacked.
0:54:08 > 0:54:12'He's been a weapon of Empire and a voice of freedom.
0:54:14 > 0:54:18'I'm proud of my family's role in his Indian adventure.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21'And delighted to discover that it's not over yet.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24'But my journey's nearly done,
0:54:24 > 0:54:28'and there's just one more person to meet.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32'Naseeruddin Shah is one of India's biggest movie stars.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36'He's acted in over 100 films, including Omkara and Maqbool.'
0:54:36 > 0:54:38- SHE LAUGHS - You have a fan!
0:54:38 > 0:54:41'I came to talk about his work,
0:54:41 > 0:54:43'but just when you think you have it sussed,
0:54:43 > 0:54:46'India has a funny habit of surprising you.'
0:54:46 > 0:54:48Now you did some films...
0:54:48 > 0:54:50- Based on Shakespeare. - ..on Shakespeare.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52Before I go into that, Felicity,
0:54:52 > 0:54:53I want to point out something.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56Whenever I was asked, "Who's your favourite actor?"
0:54:56 > 0:54:58I'd say, "Mr Kendal."
0:54:58 > 0:54:59And I'd seen Lord Olivier,
0:54:59 > 0:55:04I'd seen Mr Brando, I'd seen Mr Gielgud on movies.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08They never mesmerised me the way he did. I saw their last performance.
0:55:08 > 0:55:12I think it was just before Mrs Kendal fell ill.
0:55:12 > 0:55:14And I said, "Sir, I have to ask you one thing.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17"Do you ever feel any sense of regret
0:55:17 > 0:55:19"that you didn't stay on in England?
0:55:19 > 0:55:23"Because you're as great as any of those great actors I've seen.
0:55:23 > 0:55:25"Don't you feel you could have stayed on
0:55:25 > 0:55:27"and become a Knight and Lord and so on?
0:55:27 > 0:55:29"Living in a mansion in London?"
0:55:29 > 0:55:35And he said, "I have no sense of regret, because I'm not an actor.
0:55:35 > 0:55:36"I'm a missionary.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38"And my mission is to spread Shakespeare."
0:55:40 > 0:55:45And I have never seen such a statement of such total clarity
0:55:45 > 0:55:48made by two people at the end of their lives.
0:55:48 > 0:55:50Saying it with such complete conviction
0:55:50 > 0:55:53and satisfied in every way.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56And it's going to be an inspiration that will last me as long as I live.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59And I try to tell the story of Shakespeare to anybody that I can.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01That's the greatest thing, is to inspire somebody else,
0:56:01 > 0:56:04- I think, probably.- Absolutely. - Amazing.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07When Shakespeareana came on, he'd recite this marvellous poem.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10I don't remember it in its entirety now, but it went something like,
0:56:10 > 0:56:12"When Shakespeare played, the stage was bare.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16"Of castle, something, font or stair.
0:56:18 > 0:56:20"Two supers made the rebel rout.
0:56:20 > 0:56:22"Two broadswords fought the battle out.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24"The throne of Denmark was a chair...
0:56:24 > 0:56:27- A chair!- "..when Shakespeare played.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30"Upon his stage without thrust prow, his actors came..."
0:56:30 > 0:56:36As we come forward now to be as our heroes, bravely, nothing tame.
0:56:36 > 0:56:40No shrinking back behind a picture frame. No coloured scene...
0:56:40 > 0:56:43"..no coloured scene emblazons.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46"When Shakespeare played, there was heard..."
0:56:46 > 0:56:51- THE KENDALS:- ..a high, unclouded summer of the word.
0:56:51 > 0:56:55"..a high, unclouded summer of the word."
0:57:00 > 0:57:03My mother died in England 20 years ago.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07After my father followed her six years later,
0:57:07 > 0:57:10we scattered his ashes on the waters of the Indian Ocean.
0:57:13 > 0:57:17What an extraordinary passage back to India I've had.
0:57:17 > 0:57:19I was brought here by my father as a little girl.
0:57:19 > 0:57:24This is where we took his ashes out to sea, from the gateway of India.
0:57:24 > 0:57:28I don't know why, we had a bagpiper with a turban and a kilt,
0:57:28 > 0:57:31who played rather badly, bless him.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35And we went to the bow of the boat, the wind was blowing,
0:57:35 > 0:57:36and we gave him to the sea.
0:57:36 > 0:57:40And the wind was so strong, it blew him back in our faces.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43- SHE LAUGHS - Which was a sort of wonderful end!
0:57:43 > 0:57:48He absolutely adored India, it was his home, and loved Shakespeare.
0:57:48 > 0:57:51Two loves of his life, apart from my mother.
0:57:51 > 0:57:57And he tried to spread that on his journeys over the years.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00And he, I suppose...
0:58:00 > 0:58:03..made me conscious, as he did many other people,
0:58:03 > 0:58:08that Shakespeare was such a special and available writer.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11And I think it would make him so happy to know
0:58:11 > 0:58:13that, in some small way, he had influenced
0:58:13 > 0:58:15the love of Shakespeare
0:58:15 > 0:58:19that is still so strong in this magical country.
0:58:21 > 0:58:23He'd be very proud.
0:58:50 > 0:58:57Subtitles by Red Bee Media