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.

本文通过改编的《傻瓜》框架考察了三部基于李尔王的印度电影：Gunasundari Katha（《贤贞的女人的故事》，1949年，泰卢固语），Rui Ka Bojh（《棉花的重量》，1997年，印地语）和Natsamrat（演员King） ，2016年，马拉地语）。尽管对傻瓜在剧中的性质和角色的争论很多，但本文认为他是中心人物，他的待遇反映了电影对莎士比亚悲剧的不同看法。愚人也是印度戏剧中熟悉的人物，来自古典梵语，中世纪民间和现代戏剧，这决定了跨文化改编的换位。