Treading regional grounds

Marathi theatre gets a shot in the arm with NCPA Pratibimb: Marathi Natya Utsav, NCPA’s first-ever festival of contemporary Marathi plays

Marathi theatre has always been known for its socially- relevant plays dealing with a multitude of contemporary issues that not only compel the audiences to think but also generate an awareness amongst them. In order to give an impetus to this kind of theatre, the National Centre for Performing Arts, Mumbai’s premier cultural institution, has conceptualised its first-ever festival of contemporary Marathi plays - NCPA Pratibimb:Marathi Natya Utsav. The event, which is planned as an annual feature in the institution’s calendar, was organised from August 7-11 at the Experimental Theatre, NCPA.

Critically-acclaimed plays directed by young as well as old directors like Baaya Daar Ughad, Ek Rikaami Baju, Geli Ekvees Varsha, Ekmekaat, Aanandbhog Mall and Mahapoor were staged at the event followed by lively sessions of debates and discussions conducted by theatre experts like Shanta Gokhale, Jayant Pawar and Sumedha Raikar Mhatre.

Explaining the relevance of the festival, Khushroo N Suntook, Chairman, NCPA said, “NCPA has always been the home for several dance, drama and music performances. But I have never got a real reply as to why despite being a premier cultural organisation, Marathi plays were never prominently displayed in our programme list. Marathi plays have always explored a variety of issues and we want to provide a platform to the young talent to showcase their skills. Since this is the first edition of the festival, it’s being conducted at the Experimental Theatre. Eventually, we want to produce our own Marathi plays and conduct workshops in this language. We are also planning to conduct festivals for Bengali and Gujarati theatre.”

Actor Atul Kulkarni, who started his career with theatre, has been actively involved in organising this festival for the last two months. He said, “Before I started my acting career, I still remember the days when I would come from Solapur, my hometown, to Mumbai. NCPA was one of the first places that I would visit. It was like home to me and I remember seeing some great plays over here. I always wished that this institution’s vast infrastructure should be used especially by the Marathi theatre. I’m glad this festival has served this purpose.”

The actor further explained how any theatre festival is always relevant as it creates a positive atmosphere that promotes collective energy. “Theatre is about interacting and sharing an energy between the actors and the audience. I see Pratibimb as the beginning of a movement to promote a vibrancy that I have missed in the last couple of years in Marathi theatre.” Deepa Gahlot, Head Programming (Theatre and Film), NCPA, explains that the basic motive was to familiarise the audiences with Marathi theatre, so after consulting stalwarts like Shanta Gokhale, Vijaya Mehta and Waman Kendre, a perfect mix of classic plays directed by old and new directors were chosen for the five-day event.

Director Sushama Deshpande on Baaya Daar Ughad:

The play: Baaya Daar Ughad is a play based on poetry (abhang) by women saints from 13th to 18th century. The poetry explores their relationship with Lord Vitthal. These saints derived courage to face life through this spiritual relationship which was their source of happiness and a means to understand themselves.

The inspiration: I got the idea for this play after reading an article about women saints in search of Lord Vitthal. I was intrigued and thought of writing a play on it as I have always focussed on women-oriented issues. I started reading poetry penned by these saints in the 13th century and realised that they were very progressive and focused on women’s liberalisation.

For instance: Earlier in rural Maharashtra, women were considered impure during their menses and were prevented from praying. One of the poems addresses this issue and says that since women’s minds and souls are clear, why should they be prevented from performing prayers during their menses? My play charts the journey of three women who undertake a yatra in search of Lord Vitthal.

Director Manaswini Lata Ravindra on > Ekmekaat :

The play: Ekmekaat is a play about a girl who is very angry with the world. Her pessimism affects her romantic life as her beau has a completely different personality and craves for stability. While they both seek answers from the world they live in, it seems that the quest for a secure and successful life serves to link them after their break-up.

The inspiration : Three years ago when I attended the Royal Court Theatre Workshop in London for emerging playwrights, I had first submitted a script of this play to the organisers. That time the idea had not been fleshed out completely. Once I returned I completely forgot about it. But a few months ago, I thought I should revive the script and direct a play on it.

Actually, the present status of women in the Indian society compelled me to write this play. I feel that contemporary women have a lot of anger and angst. They can’t express their emotions about a lot of things and it starts affecting their inter-personal relationships. But even today men are still conservative, so they can’t accept this aggressive streak in women. I would describe Ekmekaat as a play about complexities. We have performed in different parts of Maharashtra and I’m glad that people of all ages could relate to it.

Director Aniruddh Khutwad on Ek Rikaami Baju and Mahapoor :

The plays: Ek Rikaami Baju is the Indian adaptation of a play written by British playwright Louise Page. It’s about a young lady whose life changes after she is afflicted with breast cancer. In its unique style, the play has only three actors playing 16 roles. It travels through various time-zones and locations to present various small scenes.

Mahapoor is about a youngster, Govind Ragunath Kawthekar, who is torn between his upbringing and his philosophy of life. His love for his childhood sweetheart and hatred for his parents provoke him to live in his own world of virtual reality.

The inspiration : I read Louise Page’s play on actor Gitanjali Kulkarni’s recommendation. I was instantly impressed with it as it was very sensitive. We decided to adapt it to the Indian context and stage it. So I contacted Page and got her permission.

Later, I visited the Tata Memorial Hospital for my research. I soon realised the magnitude of this disease and the play’s relevance in today’s society. Usually women above 40 are detected with breast cancer but there are also rare cases where younger women have been afflicted with this disease. While in the original play, there are different characters, in Ek Rikaami Baju, I have deliberately made two actors enact 16 roles as I wanted to make the play very realistic. I believe in the Stanislavsky system of acting (method acting) so I conducted workshops with my actors so that they could enact these various characters effortlessly.

Mahapoor means flood of thoughts. It was written in 1972 and first staged in 1975. It’s a modern classic that focuses on psychological behaviour. Though the play was written over three decades ago, it’s still relevant now as even today’s youth is undergoing an identity crisis. Govind, the protagonist, symbolises today’s youth who are considered worthless by their predecessors. I have only changed the treatment of the play and made it more intimate. The actors perform very close to the audience in order to make them feel their angst.