Screen play

The transition from the stage to the screen has not been an easy one even though both the plays boast of a successful run. Maharathi— a crime-thriller written by Uttam Gada and directed by Paresh Rawal—has logged 1,000 shows in Gujarati and 100 in Hindi.

The President is Coming, written by Anuvab Pal for Writer’s Bloc and directed by Kunal Roy Kapoor, has been entertaining theatre-goers for two years. Still, for cinematic purposes, the length is trimmed, dialogues are crisper and more dramatic moments are added.

“Maharathi’s original duration of three hours has been reduced by one hour,” says director Shivam Nair. Pal followed the thumb rule of “Never tell something when you can show it” while writing the script of The President is Coming. He also revisited some of the characters. “Samantha Patel’s character (played by Shernaz Patel in the film) was weak and very straight in the play. For the film, she has acquired some quirks,” he says.

Since the limitation of a confined auditorium is done away with, both films have action that heightens their visual appeal. Apart from that, Kapoor, who has directed both the versions of The President is Coming, adopts a mockumentary format. The film in English has footages of George Bush’s India visit.

Such endeavours are not always enough. When Feroz Abbas Khan made Gandhi, My Father, he revisited the biography of Harilal Gandhi by Chandulal Bhagubhai Dalal. “Though my play Mahatma Vs Gandhi is based on the same book, Gandhi, My Father is not its adaptation. I went back to Dalal’s biography, while working on the film as the canvas for it was much wider,” Khan says. “To make Darshan Jariwalla mentally fit to play the great leader, we sent him for Vipassana.”

Cinema may have a larger appeal and scope but not all plays can find celluloid interpretation. “Every play can’t be made into films,” says actor Shernaz Patel. Khan cites Peter Shaffer’s Equus that didn’t work as a film. “But the celluloid version of Shaffer’s other play Amadeus went on to win Academy awards,” he says.

Despite the recent instances, very few Indian plays have made it to the big screen, including Vijay Tendulkar’s Kamala and Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe, Mrichchkatikam (as Utsav) and Aaj Ki Taaza Khabar.

“A lot of plays we write are un-cinematic,” says Pal. But

Shakespeare, who was once hailed as Hollywood’s most popular screenwriter, has been a regular inspiration for Indian filmmakers.

Vishal Bhardwaj’s adaptation of Bard’s plays, Maqbool (Macbeth) and Omkara (Othello) and Gulzar’s Angoor (Comedy of Errors) are some of the most brilliant as well as popular works in this category. After all, everybody loves a good drama, be it on stage or screen.