Journalism of Courage
IT professional Sachin Joshi has been moonlighting as a theatre director and actor for the past five-and-a-half years. The theatrical process helps me move ahead with everything else in life, he says. He believes everyone has something or some activity that is their energy point. This was the idea that attracted him to the story Chapha Ani Devachi Aai (The Flower and God’s Mother) written by popular Marathi writer CT Khanolkar.
The 52-page book tells the story of Vishnu,a teacher-philosopher who shares a surreal relationship with the flower Chapha (Frangipani) which grows near his home. He draws his energy from the sight of the flower, explains Joshi,who first noticed the book’s narrative three years ago at a literary event. I wanted to adapt it to the stage ever since but the challenge was to keep the narrative dynamic and the drama alive , says Joshi. His adaptation,titled Chapha ,will be showcased at Sudarshan Rangmanch,Narayan Peth,on November 5 and 6.
Joshi devised an unconventional scheme. I decided to run the narrative and dramatic parts of the play parallely. So two people will read out bits of the story like a voice-over,while the actors will continue the story thread where it ends, says Joshi. The seating capacity of Sudarshan Rangmanch will be reduced from the usual 150 to 60 on the days Chapha shows and the actors will move around the entire space of the hall with the readers sitting among the viewers. I wanted to break the space between the audience and the stage, says Joshi.
Chapha comments on 40-year-old Vishnu’s relationship with the three women in his life his physically-challenged sister,Kashi,who is completely dependent on him; his co-worker and paying guest,the 18-year-old Sandhya,who falls in love with him; and an old widow who remains anonymous,but is symbolic of the voice of conscience in the house. Actor Chandrashekhar Kulkarni plays the role of Vishnu,while Amruta Patwardhan,a city-based radio jockey,takes on the garb of Sandhya. Marathi singer Anuradha Marathe will return to the stage after a gap of 40 years to essay the role of the old widow.
For Kulkarni,who has balanced his business and amateur acting career for two decades now,the biggest challenge was to snap into the acting mode every time the narration stopped. The format may seem even jerky at times. I had to work really hard to get used to taking the acting forward after the narration. It was like climbing from the fifth step after the first four had already been climbed by someone else, he says.
( Chapha will be staged on November 5 and 6 at Sudarshan Rangmanch,starting 7 pm)
