Stage director threatened

8220;This man used to call up my residence quite often. He inquired about my whereabouts without disclosing his identity. Then he said he wanted to meet me for my good8217;. I asked him to come to the rehearsal venue at Kala Nagar, Bandra. He never appeared, but continued to call up8221;, said Kendre, adding that, 8220;I dismissed the man as a mischiefmaker who wanted to disturb my mental equilibrium8221;.

However, the story took a serious turn when the booking manager of the Dinanath Mangeshkar hall, Vile Parle, received a call on November 15 just before Kendre8217;s play was to kick off, claiming that there was a bomb in the theatre. The audience was asked to vacate and the police were summoned, only to declare it as a hoax. Kendre received another threat on November 17. This time, he pronounced a categorical threat, saying 8220;One play does not matter for you anyway. I want you to stop this play. Otherwise, you may find yourself dead, like the many who die in Mumbai. If I can create a bomb scare, I can plant a real bomb too.8221;

Kendre is intrigued by the fact that the caller has targetted a 8220;very harmless comedy, that too a revived play with nothing controversial or offensive about it.8221; Ashi Bayako Havi is a revival of the original comedy written by Acharya Atre. The play centres around comic situations arising from a middle-aged man8217;s search for a loyal wife. The theme is identical to the one exploited in Hindi films like Shagird or Shreeman Ashique. Added Kendre, 8220;I have directed much more serious scripts with political overtones. I have worked on subjects like the devdasi system and the Hindu-Muslim divide. No one ever terrorised me then. Why should anyone find this play objectionable?8221;

Marathi stage personalities are equally intrigued by the news, unsure of whether to dismiss it as a prank or take it seriously. The producers of the play were unavailable for comment. However, it is learnt that they have decided to go ahead with the play so that they don8217;t play into the hands of a prankster.

Theatre producer and senior member of the Marathi Natya Vyavasayik Nirmata Sangh Mohan Tondvalkar said, 8220;The unknown caller seems to be alien to theatre. He has threatened the wrong person. A director cannot stop or start performances. Therefore, this man seems to have an extraneous interest in troubling Kendre.8221; Tondvalkar said such incidents were unheard of in theatre circles. 8220;The fittest8217; has survived in the Marathi theatre world. I hope such terrorism finds no place in an otherwise clean industry.8221; He said the incident can set a bad precedent. 8220;I hope we remain out of dirty games like the ones played in the Hindi film industry.8221; Another producer Mohan Wagh had a guarded reaction to the incident. 8220;If this has happened, it is bad. However, knowing the falling standards of theatre producers, I cannot rule out the possibility of a dirty publicity stunt played by the play8217;s producers. Kendre may not know of this trick. But, it is possible that the producer has stagemanaged the incident to get cheap publicity.8221; However, Wagh would not elaborate on this theory.