Action packed

Akarsh Khurana,director of Afsane: Bai se Bioscope tak,says,“I have been doing English plays and doing Afsane was more like an learning experience,where I came to know about various folk and classical art forms in old times. The play talks about life of a baithak artiste and a nautanki artiste after advent of cinema. It brings out how the once famous and popular artistes fade away. It was intriguing for me to be a part of this play,which introduced me to a whole new world of folk art.”

Commenting on the past and present of theatre,Khurana,who is associated with AKvarious Production,says,“Why theatre lost its charm was because of many reasons – one being it was not a lucrative career option. Theatre in India lacks in infrastructure and hence has limited options.”

The play Sex,Morality and Censorship from Arpana Theatre and directed by Sunil Shanbag takes audience once again into the era of 70s,when Vijay Tendulkar’s classic,Sakharam Binder was attacked by various section of societies including the stage censor. The play invokes questions and justifies its relevance today.

Ravindra Khare,director of Katyar Kaljat Ghusli,who has been into the profession for the past 30 years lists the ups and downs of theatre in a jut manner,as he says that one reason behind the downfall was that theatre was not able to match the pace of life of people and second most important reason was reducing importance of a powerful script. “In earlier Marathi plays,script used to be powerful,but with increased competition,people started running behind success and there came xeroxing of scripts. If one play does well,every other play will be inspired from it. And most important was rates of tickets. Today one ticket of a Marathi play sells for Rs 120 and for a middle class family of four it’s not very easy to shell out Rs 500 for one evening. However,the rates problem is being tackled as we now have raised standard of living and thus plays are now affordable.”

After the slump in theatre,which saw many exits,the revival brought many fresh faces in the field and along with them came fresh ideas and perspectives,which was essential for growth of theatre,he adds. About his play,Katyar Kalijat Ghusli,Khare says,“The play,form Bharat Natya Sanshodhan Mandir,is a musical that shows victory of harmony over rivalry and pride. It also brings out the relationship of master and the disciple through music. The play has been doing well and we have been entertaining ‘once more’ demands of audience,who usually demand repeat of musical performance.”

Another intriguing play,Geli Ekvis Varsha that dealt with the sensitive,confused and trapped youth is a flashback of last 21 years and talks about how the country and countrymen grew up to what are they today. Directed by Aalok Rajwade,the play was written by Dharakriti Sumant and comes from Natak Company.

Another celebrated and popular play,which has veteran actor like Dr Mohan Agashe playing the protagonist again garnered praises from audience. After his degree in mechanical engineer,Girish Joshi,took up professional theatre with Maharashtra Cultural Centre. Commenting on the shift in theatre from competition-oriented plays to production-oriented ones,Joshi says that in 80s,professional plays were not very popular and competitions were the only aspect that they were made for. “In last five to six years,theatre has come up in a big way. It needs treatment like any other profession. In theatre too,we experiment new ideas with smaller audience and based on their reaction we plan strategies for the show. He said that the play Katkon Trikon that was staged during the theatre fest gave him an opportunity to work with senior artiste like Agashe and understand various perspective of audience.”

Dr Agashe could not have chosen a better comeback vehicle for his return to theatre after a long gap than Katkon Trikon. A play that delves into the depths and despairs of relationships within a family and the superficiality and callousness with which roles are essayed by its members,Katkon Trikon is an apt mirror to today’s fast changing socio-cultural milieu. Marked with some brilliant acting from Dr Vivek Bele,Ketaki Thatte and of course Agashe who shifts between two characters with practiced ease and conviction,the play prompts one to think of the loneliness and vulnerability of the aged. Significantly it also touches upon the subconscious desires and thoughts of individuals that need perhaps just a little nudging to reveal themselves as near confessions. Punctuated with some clever one-liners and elevated with gripping twists and turns in the plot,Katkone Trikon from the Maharashtra Cultural Centre is both an entertainer and a thought provoker.