Alex Lewis
Daijiworld Media Network
Dubai, Feb 11: Ln Kishore D Shetty-led Lakumi troupe on Friday February 10 delighted the theatre enthusiasts of UAE for seven hours non-stop, with their two superhit comedy plays 'Oikla Yoga Bodu' and 'Dada Malpere Apundu' at the Nashwan Hall of Al Nasr Leasureland.
The UAE Tulu Koota, one of the oldest organisations in the UAE led by its dynamic president C R Shetty, presented these plays in association with ace organiser Karnoor Mohan Rai.
The Lakumi Troupe consisting of about 20 members travelled all the way from Mangalore along with its leader Ln Kishore Shetty, playwright and actor Alake Naveen Shetty, ace comedians Arvind Bolar, Sundar Rai and others to present the two plays before the UAE audience.
The first play was delayed by at least 90 minutes, mainly because of the late arrival of some sponsors and the audience. The inaugural stage programme was short. K R Tantry of Tulu Koota compered the progamme.
Karnoor Mohan Rai thanked the main sponsors and others who supported the event. Ln Kishore Shetty and Chidananda Naik, Doha were felicitated by the organisers.
Girish Shetty, president Karnataka Sangha Dubai, Daya Kirodian, Billawa community leader in the UAE, treasurer of Tulu Koota and secretary of Karnataka Sangha Dubai, S K Poojary from Oman, Shekhar Shetty of Arab Udupi, Walter Nandalike of Daijiworld, Harish Sherigar of ACME, Satish Venkatraman of Chilly Willy and others were on the dais during the lamp-lighting ceremony.
The first play 'Oikla Yoga Bodu' ended around 9 pm, and the second play 'Dada Malpere Apundu' began at 9.30 pm and concluded at around 12.30 am.
Both plays were a delightful blend of comedy and sentiments, and each had important social messages to convey.
The humour element was superb, and each and every member in the audience was seen enjoying every moment. Comic performances by Arvind Bolar and Sundar Rai, and the deeply emotional role of Shobha Shetty were the highlights of both plays.
Perfomances by Dharmendra Amin, Ravi Shetty Suratkal, Suresh Manjeshwar, Vasanth V Amin, Shobha Shetty, Suresh Jodikal, Pinky Rani, Girish Shetty and writer-actor Naveen Shetty Alakeand were also highly commendable.
The music, background songs, dialogues, lighting and sound complimented the play so well that both plays, though of quite longer duration than other plays (210 minutes each), had the audience glued to their seats until the early hours of Saturday.
The jam-packed crowd that gathered for both the shows, despite the fact that quite a few Tulu plays had been staged in Dubai over the last couple of weeks, proved that there is plenty of demand for quality Tulu plays in Dubai.
At the end of the second play all the artistes, technical and support teams were called on to the stage and introduced to the audience. The huge round of applause for the artistes proved that both plays were highly appreciated by the audience.
The visiting troupe urged UAE Tulu theatre lovers to support all the troupes and Tulu plays in the UAE, just as they supported Lakumi troupe.
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