Dream Project

Legendary Marathi playwright Mahesh Elkunchwar once said in an interview that it was a recurring dream that inspired his play An Actor Exits. Elkunchwar narrated the dream and said he was on stage alone and wrapped up in cobwebs. He was rehearsing but couldnt hear what he was saying, says Vaibhav Abnave,who began studying […]

Legendary Marathi playwright Mahesh Elkunchwar once said in an interview that it was a recurring dream that inspired his play An Actor Exits. Elkunchwar narrated the dream and said he was on stage alone and wrapped up in cobwebs. He was rehearsing but couldnt hear what he was saying, says Vaibhav Abnave,who began studying Elkunchwars work in 2009,and went on to make a film around it. Fittingly,Abnaves film Maunave (Monologue) opens with lines from William Shakespeares Tempest: We are such stuff as dreams are made on,and our little life is rounded with sleep. And it is a web of dreams that the viewer explores through the film dreams that echo with legendary playwright Elkunchwars voice.

The plot develops through the stories of four actors and their rehearsals. One common thread runs through all the rehearsals a little boy who intently watches the actors and their struggles. Those who are familiar with Elkunchwars work will find echoes of his concepts running through the film. All lines in the film have been taken from Elkunchwars plays,but not in a linear fashion. The characters have also been drawn from his works, says Abnave,adding,Those who know Elkunchwars work will be able to connect the dots. But the viewer does not necessarily have to be familiar with the playwright to be able to enjoy this film as a standalone project.

Recently completed,the film has been selected for the Mumbai International Film Festival,which has been organised by Mumbai Academy of Moving Image and is scheduled for October 17-24. And the announcement of the films nomination came just in time for a celebration of Elkunchwars 74th birth anniversary on Wednesday.

Conventionally speaking,films are usually about the man or the work. But Maunraag (Monologue) is about his oeuvre or his collected work. It is a man and his work put together, he says.

We didnt want to do a documentary with people speaking about him and his work,or a biographical film in which some one would play his role. I wanted some thing that would arrive at the heart of the matter,the quest of an artiste that holds his work together. There is relentless honesty in his work and a refusal to be satisfied with easy answers, says Abnave.

The film has been shot in the film theatre form,taking a cue from Ingmar Bergmans After the Rehearsal. That is why it feels like the film is in a limbo-like space,suspended in vacuum. And it has been edited to cut through the four different rehearsal stories,making it seem like each of the actors is aware of the others presence and is responding to them in a way, says Abnave.

Its not just the characters voices that connect with each other and echo through the film. All of Elkunchwars major influences Anton Chekov,Henrik Ibsen,Sylvia Plath and Henry Miller find a voice in the story. Abnave says,All his literary influences form a sort of secret society in the film with all these lone artistes communicating with each other across time and space.

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