Saw an entirely different kind of play- a musical, called a sangeet-natak. Instead of dialogues, the characters converse through songs. Specially written for the situation, of course. This was a great traditional art form that's almost dead now. I got to see one such play, Sangeet Sanshaykallol, with a plot like a Hrishikesh Mukherjee film. Spouses who suspect each other of ifidelity, without justification. Superb performances from everyone in the cast!
Marathi films have had great pioneers like Dadasaheb Phalke and V. Shantaram. Recently, there was a festival of films, of which we saw two. Saamna starring Nilu Phule and Dr. Shreeram Lagoo was a classic about a duel between a powerful local businessman and a principled man who hunts him down for his misdeed. The story is by Vijay Tendulkar. Directed well by Jabbar Patel.
Saw a great play in Marathi titled Aamne Saamne. It's a story of two couples, one old and one young. The young ones pretend to be married to live as tenants with the older couple. Their stories intermingle, and both learn from each other. A lot of hilarious and serious sequences later. Directed and acted in by Mangesh Kadam, the older husband in the play. Very good dialogue, acting and comic timing..
This is written and directed by Mahesh Manjrekar. I am convinced that 'kar's can do creative stuff! A good tale of a conman and his female victims, and how his scheme pans out. There are some twists in the tale, and the characters are quite interesting. The coffee does play a role!!
Good acting, all around. A driver/servant character adds a comic element throughout. This was the first show in Pune we saw. Worth a watch!
The cast and crew including Mahesh Manjrekar take a bow-
Saw a program that had excerpts from 4 plays on the theme of Women in Marathi Theatre, called Tee (She in Marathi). Plays written by the likes of Vijay Tendulkar, Sai Paranjpye and Ratnakar Matkari. Pic from one of them, below. Starred Suhita Thatte-
There was also a lively performance of Mulgi Jhaali Ho, a freestyle street play about why the girl child is important, intended to spread awareness in a society that favoured the Male Child, written many years ago, and performed in all corners of Maharashtra, and translated as well. The highlight was the writer, 75 or so, performing on stage!
Here's are 2 pics from their act-
Spruha Joshi, Shweta Pendse, Amruta Subhash, Purnima Talwalkar, Supriya Pathare, and Rohini Hattangadi and Suhita Thatte.. what's common to these names?
They are all actresses on the Marathi stage, some of whom are actresses in other media too.
Marathi theatre has a lot of talent, and some of them have been extremely successful.
I was lucky to have watched some of them in action over the last few years, during my Pune stay or visits.
38 Krushna Villa, Sankarshan via Spruha, Asen mi, nasen mi, and Purush are some recently staged ones. Mother's Day, is another that I saw a few years ago, motivated by my cousin Suhita Thatte being a part of the cast.
Long live theatre, in all languages.
It's a show with a difference. Two people- Sankarshan Karhade and Spruha Joshi- converse with the audience, with minimal musical accompaniment. Had just watched a play starring Spruha earlier, called Purush.
They recite poetry, sing songs and talk about various stages in life, childhood, youth, old age. Poems and songs are on a variety of subjects, from How to Eat Well, or the way a guy writes exams when a girl's hair on his desk distracts him, and a lot of things in between.
A participative session with two 60 plus old men was also a part of this show.
Generally, good fun, and well-performed. It was nearly a full house too, in its 130th performance!
Jokes at the rate of 1 per minute. Non-stop comedy.
I have seen a few comedy films, but not many plays. This one is very funny, and well acted and directed.
The plot is not really important, but it sets you off on a two hour romp through fun moments, with intrigue, good acting, parody of many things like TV serials, Bhais in Dubai and their henchmen, and a general commentary on the wasted people who turn criminals in society.
All in all, recommended for viewing.
Written by Jaywant Dalvi, a revival of this play is on in Pune.
A powerful indictment of the way a woman is treated in our society by the powerful patriarchy. It has a lot of messages about politics, corruption in public life, the susceptible judiciary, and so on.
The story unfolds through an upright social worker, whose daughter is in love with a low caste revolutionary. But when push comes to shove, he and most others turn their back on her. Desperate for revenge and to teach a powerful man a lesson, she takes the law into her own hands, after the justice system fails her.
A lot of twists in the plot and good dialogue, acting keep you engrossed. It's a social statement within a play. Actors including Spruha Joshi playing the young girl excel.
What the title means is Women like Any Other - or Ordinary Women. But here it refers to four strong women of a family- a Mother and her three daughters, and the life choices they make, which are ahead of their times. Set in 1991, written by Prashant Dalvi and directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni, this is a powerful narrative about women's 'place in society', and how some of them chin up and challenge those patriarchal views. In general, a unique perspective emerges from each of the four women.
The brilliant cast (Rohini Hattangadi, Parna Pethe, Mukta Barve, Kadambari Kadam...) only adds to the appeal of a well-knit story. Ahead of its time certainly, with some of the choices staggeringly so, it is all very convincing, the way the story unfolds. The men in the play also do their parts well. I like the reference to another well-known play, Hayavadana, which sort of mirrors the dilemma faced by one of the characters.. though she explains later the differences between the two.
A must see for anyone who thinks progressively- man or woman. Pic from Balgandharva theatre as the actors took their bow. They got a standing ovation.
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!
Maharashtrians are also lovingly called ghatis (from the ghats), just like Malayalis are called Mallus, Gujaratis Gujjus and Telugus, Gulti.. I am also half-gulti, grew up in A.P. But this is about my ghati friends- so here goes.
Here is a sample-
Meghana Khadilkar, who I am yet to meet (we met, subsequently). Lives in Pune, with two adorable kids. How do I know? She's active on facebook, that's how.
Kedar Mulay- lives in Thane/Mumbai. And keeps threatening to come to Bangalore- or kept, while I was there - to meet Ishita Modi and me :) We met too, in Thane.. Prof. Jayasimha was with me.
Pavan Tarawade- an author. No more needs to be said.
Pratima Gaekwad- recently met her through our common love of biryani, after I taught her at IIM Indore. (and many times after that meeting)
Kshitija Deshmukh- from Mumbai, a good artist, and former student from an executive PG batch of Indore.
Shraddha Nigdikar- an NRI ghati from Bhopal, who is also into music, cats and cooking. My selfie teacher among other things. I am still learning, Shraddha.. (she's now doing a Ph.D.)
Kiran Kenjale, an NRI in the US. -also called Ken Jolly out there, and believes in All Play and No work- or just a little bit of it. Enjoy life, and travel is his motto. Rubbed off on me a bit- we are friends from childhood.
Manoj Bhide- He's my chaddi buddy too, we played Bridge and Badminton forever in our teens. His mom made us lunch when we camped at his place. Our brothers completed the foursome.
Ravi Gadgil. He's more American than ghati, at least accent-wise. My Golf partner, and great company for drinks. Great sales experience too, so was also a Placement Chair at IMT Nagpur, and MDP chair as well.
No, these are not mafia dons, nor are they the 'big brothers' of Bengal. They were two icons of films - Bhagwan Dada found fame in Hindi films, and Dada Kondke, in Marathi films.
Both made superhit films and starred in them as heroes-unlikely ones. Not tall, fair or handsome as tradition required heroes to be then..think Dharmendra, or Dilip Kumar. Bhagwan Dada was actually portly, or rotund, and not what you would call handsome in the conventional sense. But he had a charm, and dancing technique and expressions that would put most actors/actresses to shame. He was and is a delight to watch, and it's tough to take your eyes off him in any of the songs from Albela- Geeta Bali (his heroine) adds to the charm in this case. Amitabh is said to have copied some of his dance steps, with success.
Dada Kondke holds the record, I believe, for nine silver jubilee films in a row. In Marathi. Pandu Havaldar onwards, he made a string of superhits, the envy of any film-maker. And starred in the, mostly wearing half-pants and looking like the Village Idiot. He revelled in double entendre, or double-meaning dialogue, and the audiences lapped them up. His songs were also on the same lines, as were the titles of many films. He forayed into Hindi films with Andheri Raat Mein, Diya Tere Haath mein, I think. That gives you the idea.
Saw an entirely different kind of play- a musical, called a sangeet-natak. Instead of dialogues, the characters converse through songs. Spe...
