Framing Lear’s fool in Indian films: ‘Doth any here know me?’

Abstract

This article examines three Indian films based on King Lear through their reconfigured framing of the Fool: Gunasundari Katha (Tale of the Virtuous Woman, 1949, Telugu), Rui ka Bojh (Weight of Cotton, 1997, Hindi), and Natsamrat (Actor King, 2016, Marathi). Though the nature and role of the Fool in the play is much debated, this essay argues that he is central and his treatment reflects the divergent views the films take on Shakespeare’s tragedy. The fact that the Fool is also a familiar figure in Indian drama, from the classical Sanskrit, medieval folk and modern plays, conditions the transpositions of the intercultural adaptations.