Plays- Watching and Acting

 Watching and acting in plays are two entirely different things. I have watched fewer plays than movies, but realise how difficult it is to stage one. That is because of acting in one during my MBA days- my only foray into this arena. Also because I watched my friend Shweta Kushal direct from scratch a new set of actors-students, in 4 different plays at IIM Indore over the last few years.

I have watched a couple of English plays, and a few Marathi plays. Maybe one or two Hindi plays, Have been impressed by most of these. Marathi stage has a long history, and a couple of classics were remade recently into films by enthusiastic directors. Natasamraat and Katyaar Kaaljaat Ghusli were both very good in the new medium. 

Watching Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah in Bangalore last year was a rare pleasure. So was Arundhati Naag performing a Girish Karnad play a few years earlier. Shabana Azmi was in the audience for that one!

Maybe after I retire, will try and watch a few more. Bucket list, here I come!

Natasamrat- Film Review

This is a piece-de-resistance (pardon my French) for Nana Patekar. He essays the role (somewhat like that of Guru Dutt in another film) of a hero of the stage, who has excelled in Shakespearean drama, who falls on bad times because he chooses to live life on his own terms. And not pay heed to what society (represented by his children in this case) tells him to do.

The film is in Marathi, with English subtitles. Though the theme is familiar, as in Do Raaste or Baghbaan earlier, this one grips you because of the exceptional writing, and a scintillating performance by Nana in the role played on stage by Dr. Shriram Lagoo. Supporting him well are his family members, the really good performances being those of Mrunmayee Deshpande as his daughter, and Ms. Manjrekar as his wife- I particularly liked the wife's role. A gem of a role as Nana's friend is by another theatre veteran Vikram Gokhale.

The dialogue (soliloquies mostly in the original play, apparently) is wonderful, and Nana lets himself loose in portraying all possible emotions, and you really feel for him, in a positive way. His indomitable spirit comes through, and so does his desperation to get away from everything worldly. Some regular, small surprises (like the encounter with the bootlegger) keep the film moving at a good pace, and the lively banter between Vikram and his friend Nana is wonderful. Cuss words are used liberally, but they don't offend.

A treat for its acting, direction (Mahesh Manjrekar's), script, and storytelling. Hats off to the original author of the play, and the film's director for adapting it so well.