Mysore, Nov. 4 (JP)- The much talked about Sound n' Light (Son et Lumiere) show has landed in controversy again. It is now District In-Charge Minister S.A. Ramdas who would like to review both the script and the show itself. "I am not happy with the script or the show. It is not up to the mark," said Ramdas to SOM.

It may be recalled that the Son et Lumiere was slated to begin along with the Dasara festivities. Then it was said by the authorities that it would begin just before Vijayadashami as there would be more visitors.

Later it was announced that the Show would be inaugurated by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa. The last announcement was that the Show would take off without any fanfare on Rajyotsava Day.

Now, three days later, there has been no light and no sound from the ramparts of the Palace.

Speaking to SOM this morning, Ramdas said, "I had seen the Sound n' Light show earlier and I was not totally convinced that the script had done justice to the theme. I am aware of the various obstacles that had been raised. I think the show is not up to the mark."

"I have decided to have it shown to a group of littérateurs and historians, including media persons next week. We will then discuss the core issues and then the script and the show itself will once again be reworked, if necessary," he said.

Prof. Ram Prasad, Head of the Department of History, Nanjangud First Grade College who, along with Prof. Sebastian of the Department of History, Manasagangotri, had reworked the script, said, "There cannot be any flaws in the script. There is no point in blaming others at this juncture. In the first place, the work of writing the script was given to non-historians and it was natural that a certain ideological element to have entered the script."

"With all due respect to Prof. Nanjaraje Urs, he is a Hindi professor and tends to interpret history in his own way.

The first script of Lingadevaru Halemane was reworked by Prof. Nanjaraje Urs and this was not approved by Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar or by the Chief Minister," recalled Prof. Ram Prasad and added, "Then we were called in.

Prof. Sebastian and I rewrote from a historical perspective and at the same time, took care of the language aspect also. All that we have done is in accordance with historical and archival records."

When asked about Minister Ramdas’ feeling that the script was not up to the mark, Prof. Ram Prasad said, "I do not think he has seen our reworked script. He has seen the old script and his impressions are based on that perception."

Palace Board Deputy Director P.V. Avaradi, speaking to SOM, said that there was no issue here and that the District In-Charge Minister was well within his rights to see the reworked Sound n' Light Show.

Lingadevaru Halemane, who first wrote the script, said that it had been redone to the satisfaction of all the stakeholders. "I have now lost interest," he said.

The Son et Lumiere was first conceptualised and made its debut during the S.M. Krishna government in 2007 and the very next year was shelved as the Royal family objected to the way it was portrayed in the show.

The original script was written by playwright Lingadevaru Halemane, but the Royal family and even the Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa raised objections; the former claiming that it glorified Tipu Sultan and the latter saying that since a separate show was planned to be held in Srirangapatna, there was no need to add extra emphasis on Tipu Sultan in this show.

The CM had then suggested that a team of historians from Mysore University be brought on board and the script reworked. This was done and the final team had film-maker T.S. Nagabharna on it. They were then sent on a working tour to Andaman and Nicobar islands, Hyderabad and New Delhi to see the Sound and Light shows held there and make sure that the Mysore Son et Lumiere would be even better.

Courtesy : Star Of Mysore