e-STQ / 028 / 14.12.05
A Brief Look at Theatre in Mumbai
By Anil Deshmukh
Fiftieth show of Lokmahabharat arthat Jambhool Akhyan
Marathi mainstream theatre comes up with a fresh crop of family entertainment each year during the Diwali season. In 2004, more than 90 plays were produced but most of them did not survive even beyond ten shows. In this context the successful innings of 50 shows of a play which is not a star-studded commercial entertainer is remarkable.
Lokshahir Vitthal Umap Theatre's Lokmahabharat arthat Jambhool Akhyan, written by Suresh Chikhle and directed by Ajit Bhagat celebrated the silver jubilee show at Ravindra Natyamandir, Mumbai on 30 October 2005.
The play was initially produced by Indian National Theatre in 1990 and ran successfully for a year. It was revived on 11 October 2004 and won three MA TA SAMMAN awards (instituted by The Maharashtra Times) the best play, best direction (Ajit Bhagat) and best actor (Vitthal Umap) of the year and two Maharashtra Kalaniketan awards for the best play and the best director.
When I asked Vitthal Umap what lead the play to success, he gave the credit to the support of the audience, the press and the team of dedicated actors. The play still has the team of 90s with just one or two changes. 'Don't forget to mention Damubhai Jhaveri of Indian National Theatre (INT) who was instrumental in bringing these art forms to the urban audience,' he said. INT was responsible for research and documentation of the folk art forms. Ashok Pranjape and Suresh Chikhle did some research and that's how Lokmahabharat shaped up as a play.
Lokmahabharat is based on gondhal, a folk art form of Maharashtra. Traditionally a Gondhli (performer) is invited by a yajman (host) to perform at auspicious occasions like marriages and naming ceremonies. The Gondhali then invokes a prayer to invite all the gods to watch the performance. After the initial ritual of setting up a puja, the gondhali starts his akhyan whereby he recites and performs stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. There are no sets and props and only traditional musical instruments are used.
Lokshahir Vitthal Umap learnt Jambhool Akhyan from Gondhal Maharshi Rajarambhau Kadam of Parbhani. Unfortunately the latter died at Parbhani on the opening night in 1990.
Commenting on the present state of the folk art forms, Vitthal Umap said, 'The people from the lower castes have kept these traditions alive. But now the younger generation is getting educated and trying to find out better sources of livelihood. In addition to this there has been a decline in support by Doordarshan. The private channels are too commercialized to accommodate such art forms. I have been singing for Akashwani [the National Radio] since 1953, when the honorarium was just Rs 15. Akashwani still promotes these art forms but there are no other avenues.'
He expects organisations like Prithvi Theatre should plan a three-day annual festival to showcase art forms like keertan, bharud, gondhal. He suggests, 'Experts like Ashok Ranade and Ashok Paranjape should be involved in the planning. The government can also select 3-4 artistes each year and support them financially so that they can show their art to the world.'
Occasionally there are festivals, but most of the time middlemen do not allow these artistes to get their full share. He cited the example of Bharudratna Nirnajan Bhakare. 'Nirnajanbhau told me that he got an invitation from an organizer and he was told that he would get remuneration of Rs 5000. He declined the invitation. Later on the same organization contacted him directly for the same show on the same date for Rs 20,000.' That clearly shows that there are people who walk out with a major share of these artistes remuneration just by virtue of being at the right place and having the right contacts
He feels happy that the people of urban theatre have accepted this art form. 75-year-old Vitthal Umap, who plays Draupadi and the Sutradhar in the play, still has an uncanny ease in moving in and out of the character of Draupadi. He has to be seen to be believed.
Sakharam Binder on DVD
Recently, a DVD of one of Vijay Tendulkar's most controversial plays, SAKHARAM BINDER directed by Sandesh Kulkarni was released. The production, supervised by the playwright, has Sayaji Shinde as Sakharam, Sonali Kulkarni as Lakshmi and Chinmayee Sumit as Champa. The play has been produced in the VCD/DVD format by Dolphin Enterprises headed by Sanjay Chabria and Mohan Jawade. 'This is the first VCD with Hindi and English subtitles,' said Jawade.
When the play directed by Kamlakar Sarang opened at Shivaji Rangmandir on 10 March 1972 with an impeccable cast of Niloo Phule, Kusum Kulkarni, Nath Pai and Lalan Sarang, no one expected it would lead to such a furor that the censor board would cancel the certificate and suggest so many cuts making it impossible to be performed. The history of the struggle is documented in a book Binderche Divas (Days of Binder). Later on the Mumbai High Court not only lifted the ban on the play but also dismissed the censor board.
Tendulkar's Ghashiram Kotwal and Ashi Pakhare Yeti have also been released on video. For those interested in Marathi theatre, there are more than 250 plays available on either DVD or VCD. The list includes musicals like Sangeet Sharda, Sangeet Sanshaykallol, commercials plays like Yada Kadachit, Mitra, Nati Goti, Mukkam Post Bombilwadi, etc
Two college productions
We often condemn the young generation as too westernised and detached from their roots. But this year two college productions, staged in the intercollegiate competitions revealed an ignored facet of this generation. They do understand the times of their parents and grandparents. These productions revealed their strength, energy and interest in Marathi literature.
The first one, Cycle, based on Vyanktesh Madgulkar's story, adapted and directed by Nipun Dharmadhikari and produced by Vrihan Maharashtra Vanijya Mahavidyalaya, Pune, is about a father who has promised to gift his son a bicycle for his success in the examination. It is about the fulfilment of a promise and the emotional turmoil thereafter. The production was successful in recreating the period and getting all the nuances of the characters and the emotional aspects of relationships in a family.
The second, 'Ga Ma Bha Na', adapted by Hemant Mahajan, directed by Santosh Verulkar and produced by Ramnaryan Ruia College, Mumbai, is based on Shala (School), a recent novel written by Milind Bokil. The success of the production was perhaps due to the reason that the students could easily relate to the situations and identify with the characters in the play. 'Ga Ma Bha Na' is a story of four friends, Surya, Chitrya, Favadya and Joshi, all students of the ninth standard, a period in life when one becomes aware of one's sexuality; it is also a period of infatuation when one wants to express his love. The best part of the production is the adaptation by Hemant Mahajan who has done justice to the novel.
Both the plays will be staged at the Savai competion which invites the best of the productions of the year.
Exit
My words fly up, my thoughts remain below.
Words without thoughts never to heaven go. [Exit.]
These were his last lines on stage. No one had ever thought that the man who was reading the part of King Claudius in the play reading of Shakespeare's Hamlet at Purandare Hall, Sahitya Sangh, Mumbai on 17 November 2005 will never be there on the stage again. The forty-four-year-old Suhas Kulkarni was expected to be there for the rehearsal of Chowk for a show on 21 November. He left Mumbai along with the team of Abhijat Rangbhoomi for Pune. He reached home. And in an hour or so, he was no more
We know that life is uncertain and all exits are sudden and shocking. Some die too early, some too late. But it is difficult to believe that one of the team members who was reading Act III, Scene iii, from three different translations of Hamlet yesterday has passed away today on 18 November 2005.
Anil Deshmukh is an actor and playwright, theatre enthusiast and columnist.
He can be reached at 13, J -8, Jal Mangal Deep Society, Bangur Nagar, Ayyappa Mandir Road, Goregaon West, Mumbai 400090. 022 28774499, +919821031195.
On 12/14/05, Gabin Kattukaran <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
On Tue, 2005-12-13 at 18:39 +0530, Srini RamaKrishnan wrote:
> My limited observation tells me that the Sena support is strong among
> many Maharashtrians. If the Sena is rejected, what choice does a
> Mumbaikar have? To watch mutely as the Bangaldeshis supported by the
> Dawood and other sects troop in? I'm not saying that there is much
> choice in the matter, but for one reason or the other, most
> Maharashtrians have chosen to stay with the Sena.
Having been in Bombay for many years and having interacted with many
Maharashtrians I would disagree.
I don't think you can associate Mumbaikar to Maharashtrian. And support
for the Sena isn't very strong right across the Maharashtrians either.
Bombay like most other big cities seems to have an identity of its own
which is seperate from that of the state to which it belongs.
I think most people in Bombay prefer to be tagged as
Bombayites/Mumbaikars rather than as any other ethnic group. This is
especially true of those who have been here for longer. The ethnic group
tag is mostly secondary. As for the Maharashtrians in Bombay - a good
many of them are immigrants as well. So they too have this dual tag
mindset. I think most of us have this notion of being from Bombay and
additionally having this association to a "gaon" (village/native town)
that we visit every so often. This is true of the Maharashtrians as well
as "the others".
There are some people who associate themselves only with Bombay - those
whose families have been here for several generations. And you will find
both Maharashtrians and "the others" in this group as well.
One other point - I've noticed that most of us here don't mind using
'Bombay' or 'Mumbai', sometimes both in the same sentence. It's all the
people who are not from here who insist on being politically correct
about it.
-gabin
--
Gabin Kattukaran < [EMAIL PROTECTED]>
