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Journalism of Courage
Loud guffaws and indulgent chuckles, laced with nostalgia, resonated through the Ganesh Kala Krida Rangmanch as Chitrakatha Vinodviranchi, a programme that paid a fun-filled tribute to the comic geniuses of Marathi celluloid got underway on the evening of March 22. The programme had been organised jointly by Marathi weekly, Lokprabha, as part of its silver jubilee celebrations and the Ashay film club.
The two-hour programme followed a novel format in which actor Dilip Prabhavalkar, in the role of sutradhar, wove an entertaining commentary of observations and anecdotes about Marathi comedians, while two big screens on stage showed clips from their films.
The merry journey into Marathi films started with Damuanna Malvankar, the original Chimanrao of the 1930s, whose trademark squint 8220;he seemed to have one eye on present troubles and one on future travails8221; only enhanced his flair for comedy. When Malvankar teamed up with another natural, Master Vinayak in a film scripted by the celebrated Acharya Atre, what followed was the laugh riot, Brahmachari. The scene of Master Vinayak being swayed from his chaste resolve by a swimsuit-wearing Meenakshi, had created ripples in middle-class Marathi consciousness when it was screened. It would be hilarious and embarrassing, Prabhavalkar quipped, when a father and son would accidentally meet in a theatre screening the film.
Prabhavalkar8217;s kaleidoscope covered a variety of comedians. The old school included the inimitable Raja Paranjape, the poker-faced Raja Gosavi, whose comic timing was impeccable, the irrepressible Sharad Talwalkar who excelled in his old-man roles and Vasant Shinde, known for his rustic characterisation.
Nuggets like how Raja Gosavi, then a ticket booking clerk in Bhanuvilas theatre, sold tickets of his own debut film in black and pocketed a cool Rs. 6,500, peppered the commentary.
The extremely popular Dada Kondke, the versatile Ashok Saraf and the latest funny man on the block, Laxmikant Berde, formed the latter half of the show.
While Prabhavalkar did an excellent job of conducting the proceedings with personal experiences of encounters with these comic greats, the prints of the films shown were not too clear and marred an otherwise good show.
