Purush returns in Hindi

Today, he is back, 8220;more mature8221; and happy to be back in the play, directed by Vijaya Mehta, which was staged 1,648 times in its one decade of life and won awards for the entire team. 8220;That was remarkable,8221; says veteran Shanta Gokhale, pleased that it8217;s back, though in Hindi, adapted by Patekar. 8220;While Nana grew into the stereotype role, Reema Lagoo gave a performance of the highest calibre,8221; remarks Gokhale.

Purush, one of Dalvi8217;s best works, is about a feudal lord who takes advantage of the vulnerability of village women. And about a spirited woman who, on venturing out in the world, realises she doesn8217;t have enough courage to fight male power. In return, she is labelled immoral and forced to live on the landlord8217;s doorstep. And it8217;s also about the landlord8217;s wife, who is no different, except for the social legitimacy.

Purush, while running to packed houses, raised questions of sexuality, gender politcs and dynamics. 8220;It wasn8217;t about the physical pain of rape,8221; says celebrated Marathi theatre actress Sukanya Kulkarni. 8220;It was about the spiritual rape,8221; she adds, reminsicing the first time she saw the play. She went numb. 8220;All the more reason why I am waiting for it,8221; she says. The new cast comprises Ayesha Julka, Usha Nadkarni replacing Reema Lagoo and Bhakti Barve, Prajakta Kulkarni and Ravi Kale, besides Patekar.

8220;After reading it in Hindi, I agreed the play should be done for a wider audience, without experimentation,8221; says Mehta, who is directing the play yet again, adding, 8220;so we went ahead, with three old actors and three new.8221; Ayesha Julka is one of them. However, Mehta shuns talk of her not being able to do justice to the role. 8220;Otherwise I won8217;t be working with her. And she is giving me quality time which others couldn8217;t.8221;

Also waiting for the revived masterpiece is Dilip Prabhavalkar, theatre actor and a ardent admirer of Dalvi8217;s works, having acted in the playwright8217;s Nati Goti and Sandhya Chayya. 8220;It was an extremely thought-provoking play.8221; And when asked why, according to him, Patekar stopped doing it, he denies knowing it ever happened. In the same breath, he says: 8220;Maybe Nana8217;s image as a successful film actor grew over the character.8221; Even Kulkarni feels so. 8220;People jeered at my breast-feeding scene in Zulwa. It hurt. But you have to switch yourself off at that time. This is what theatre acting is about,8221; she says, explaining why Patekar shouldn8217;t have reacted the way he did.

And as for its social relevance, everyone feels that with the present political and social structure, the play is all the more relevant. Gokhale feels that the play was reflective of the environment and theatrical practices of the Eighties. 8220;We have moved on. Maybe we have become more callous,8221; she says, with Kulkarni subscribing to her thoughts, saying: 8220;Men still push women around at railway stations.8221; The only thing everyone8217;s waiting for, though, is whether Purush loses its flavour in Hindi. However, they feel that despite its cultural specificity there are ways to retain the impact. 8220;And when Vijayatai Vijaya Mehta is still directing it, you can be sure of the quality,8221; concludes Kulkarni.