Lines for a Dramatist

FOR Mahesh Elkunchwar, it was a role reversal of sorts. Until now, he had been weaving parts into integrated wholes. Vaastupurush now gives ...

FOR Mahesh Elkunchwar, it was a role reversal of sorts. Until now, he had been weaving parts into integrated wholes. Vaastupurush now gives him the chance to become a part of the whole 8212; a whole he didn8217;t himself create and which was meant to be screened and not staged. Today, apart from his directors Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukhtankar, he has the likes of Vijay Tendulkar marvelling at the finesse with which he has lived the role of a Magsaysay Award-winning doctor.

The film, which won critical acclaim at New Delhi, Mumbai and the recent Pune film festival, has added a new dimension to the life of this 61-year-old playwright, one of the few people to have won both the Sangeet Natak as well as the Sahitya Akademi Award. But he himself has no illusions about his new-found acting prowess. He feels the character of Dr Bhaskar Deshpande was close to his persona.

Elkunchwar draws comfort from his association with his creative instinct. 8216;8216;I think the creative processes of playwrights and actors are quite similar as far as exploring a character is concerned,8217;8217; says Elkunchwar, who has written films like Party and Holi and has taught at the Pune film institute. 8216;8216;I think most playwrights are, by instinct, good actors. They know how the mind of an actor works. Most of them, especially Tendulkar, read their scripts beautifully because there is an actor in them,8217;8217; he adds. His first and only other film role was the small one of a Naxalite in Govind Nihalani8217;s Aakrosh. This was ideal for Bhave and Sukhtankar, who were looking for some one who was not an actor, so that Dr Deshpande would not be overshadowed in the eyes of the audience by any association they could have with the actor. Also, they felt that Elkunchwar had internalised the role.

8216;8216;I had internalised the role, so I didn8217;t have to resort to physical gestures,8217;8217; he says, adding that he only occasionally forced retakes. The end product was thoroughly satisfying for him. 8216;8216;My directors are extremely pleased with my performance,8217;8217; he says with a broad grin. Internalising ones role is very important to him. 8216;8216;In Peter Brook8217;s Mahabharata, the artists don8217;t have to resort to intense gesticulations as normally seen in mythological serials or plays,8217;8217; he explains.

His success hasn8217;t drawn him away from his original love. 8216;8216;Basically, I am a comfort-loving person. Acting in films can really get very boring,8217;8217; he confides. After Sonata, his latest play which opened to rave reviews and is being staged at Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, he is back in his original role. He is busy scripting a new play.