Play right, play young

The theatrewallahs’ woe that original plays are hard to come by is not new. But some like Manav Kaul, who traded acting for writing and directing plays, have taken up the pen to fix the problem. The result was Shakkar Ke Paanch Daane, a one-actor play with an unconventional method of story telling. The 32-year-old Mumbai-based dramatist followed it up with Peele Scooterwala Admi, Baali Aur Shambu, Ilhaam and Aisa Kahte Hain—all of them characterised by a richness of language and experimentation.

For many other playwrights like Irawati Karnik and Divya Jagadale, theatre gives them an opportunity to explore the joys of writing. “It’s a very personal thing,” says 25-year-old Karnik, who has dealt with the tricky terrain of personal relationships with humour in her seven Marathi plays, including Aaltoon Paaltoon, Balkadu and Vadani Kavala Gheta.

One comedy which has had a successful run since its debut at the Writers’ Bloc is The President is Coming by 31-year-old Anubhav Pal, who has also co-written Loins of Punjab Presents. A laugh riot of a play, The President is Coming is a story of a group of six Indians scrambling to shake hands with the US President. Pal, who had written plays like Chaos Theory, Out of Fashion, Life and Love and EBITDA earlier, is currently scripting one on the newspaper industry.

Theatre pundits are happy at the proscenium delights being offered by new dramatists. “I am very impressed with the content and quality of writing in theatre nowadays,” says playwright Mahesh Dattani. Rahul Da Cunha—whose Rage Productions organises Writers’ Bloc—agrees. “There is a pool of talented young playwrights in India,” he says.

But the dramatists who make a difference are the ones with a body of work, says Chetan Datar, Mumbai-based director. The number of such consistent writers is small though the community is growing. Moreover, not too many path-breaking plays are being written. “Only a few are willing to experiment and take risks. Others tread the tried and tested path,” says Da Cunha. Echoes Dattani, “Quite a few of them are caught up in the style of writing of Sixties’ Europe, especially the theatre of the absurd.”

Writers like Kamatham, however, are breaking the shibboleths. “I got rid of the linear structure in Creeper, which is inspired by the Vikram-Betal form of story-telling,” he says. For Peele Scooterwala Admi, Kaul opted for an unconventional beginning and end while in Aisa Kahte Hain, he strung together several stories.

The prime hurdle for young playwrights remains funds. “I am taking a break to act in a few films so that I can supplement my theatre expenses,” says Kaul. Theatre might be Kamatham’s passion but he works for cinema, radio and video games. He also writes commissioned plays and freelances for IBM’s employee training programmes.

Mumbai-based Jagadale feels the most difficult part for an upcoming playwright is “to find a director who believes in your script. She had it easy with Sunil Shanbag directing her first play Bansuri. “After finding a director, economics and availability of space need attention,” says Jagadale, whose second play End of Season premiered at Prithvi Theatre in September.

Bollywood is both an influence and a threat. Da Cunha rues the steep competition from films while Kaul derides its impact on theatre. But the overlapping of film and theatre worlds seems inevitable. After the success of Loins of Punjab Presents, Pal now wants to write and direct another film. Jagadale too is writing a film script while Kamatham is associated with the making of two short films.
All said and done, there’s no doubt that this new crop of writers will give theatre a new lease of life. It’s time, perhaps, to raise a toast.