1

Dr Ajay Joshi gives us his take on the recently concluded Vinod Doshi Theatre Festival.

contd. on pg 2

throes of the traditional set equations of musicals, satires, farces etc., and give vent to an entirely different energy onstage.

A horde of artistes, including theatre personalities, dancers, sculptors, painters, writers and the like, drove this change. Amongst

them was a theatre aficionado, Vinod Doshi (founder of Premier Automobile Limited) who juggled his vocation as an industrialist and his passion for theatre. He was a light and sound designer, actor, translator and an ardent supporter of the arts. Having moved along the current and seen the theatre from close

The buzz was out much before the coveted Vinod Doshi theatre festival got underway for the third year, in Pune from 22nd to 25th February 2011. Now well entrenched into the cultural psyche of Puneities and on the calendar of every aspiring theatre group, the festival is gradually growing in popularity and inching its way away from 'Amche Pune' to catch the fancy and attention of artistes across the country. Though not yet very conspicuous, it is surely carving a niche for itself, as a place to pick up plays for further staging. Theatre groups vie with each other to get a place into this festival. And as the saying goes…'If you can satisfy the fastidious Puneri junta, then the going gets smooth all along...' - and this definitely seems to have held true for the plays staged here in the earlier years. It was during the tumultuous 60s when the modern Marathi theatre movement, set out to unshackle itself from the

quarters, this festival is in his memory, to not only stage plays and as a celebration of theatre, but also to felicitate young, 'Rangakarmees', taking cognisance of their work and commitment to theatre. This year theatre practitioners Ashish Mehta, Choiti Ghosh, Bijon Mandal, Alok Rajawade and Geetanjali Kulkarni, were each awarded a scholarship of a lakh of rupees, as a token of appreciation of their work and an attempt to cheer them on in their future endeavours. Five plays, each with their distinct flavour, form and treatment, were up for staging, with four of them celebrating their premier shows. Interestingly three of these were translations/adaptations. Not that this trend is new to the Marathi theatre as translations and adaptations have been done in abundance. However of late it is seen more often, where plays not only from geographically diverse regions but also varied forms of literature - novels, poetry , short-stories etc. are adapted for the stage. This clearly spells a trans-cultural exchange where literature from national and international

resources is being read; artistes are travelling a lot within India and abroad, watching each other’s productions; and plays are developed through workshops, scholarships, grants and festival invitations. Thus artistes are exposed to works of different groups, both as pieces of literature and as performances. Not that this is a new found phenomenon, but it struck me as important, as I witnessed it at this

at the Vinod Doshi Theatre Festival

May '11Janki Kutir, Juhu Church Road, Juhu, Mumbai 400 049

Vol. XII Issue 5

Pg 1 & 2 Centre Stage at the Vinod Doshi Theatre FestivalPg 3 Back Stage with Divya JagdalePg 4 & 5 What’s On in MayPg 6 On the Road Pg 7 & 8 ReflectionsPg 8 Café Chatter

Centre Stage

A scene from Gajab Kahani

2

year’s festival and also with plays recently performed both in

the commercial and parallel theatre circuits. The plays lined up for the Vinod Doshi festival were- Ghashiram Kotwal by Vijay Tendulkar; Abhi Na Jao Chodkar by Aman Uppal, Direction Hidayat Sami; Mister Behram- Playwright Jeev Patel, translator Shanta Gokhale, Direction Aniruddha Khutawad; Gajab Kahani- Original novel The Elephant Journey- by Portugese Novelist Jose Saramago, dramatisation by Pradeep Vaidya, Direction Mohit Takalkar; Mangutivar Maysabha- Play Creeper- playwright Ram Ganesh Kamtham , Marathi adaptation and Direction Irawati Karnik. Vijay Tendulkar alias ‘Tein’ must have been - Neh! He surely was, a

maverick of sorts to conjure up a masterpiece like Ghashiram Kotwal, which not only elbowed its way into being a textbook play for students of literature, but also enthralled audiences across the globe crossing all barriers of age, as was amply evident from the heady mix of youngsters and grey hairs, which packed the Yashwantrao Chavan Auditorium in Pune. While seniors reminisced the first few shows and the controversies that embroiled the play, the younger generation marvelled at the music and the ingenuity of the story and presentation. Not needing any introductions as it has been written about and performed umpteen times, one wonders how long it is to go on! Apart from a few directors, mostly from other states, who have adapted the play into regional languages, the groups

Centre Stage contd. from pg 1 Uppal, which got me worried about the criteria for selection of plays for the fest. The plot had all the trappings of a Bollywood mirch-masala - a struggling actress gears herself for an audition, the producer gets roped in by her oomph, decides to drop her home, she cajoles him to stay on, she flips for him and he finally concedes to her advances and lo and behold! abruptly decides to have a live-in relation with her. But for the actors Shivani Tanksale and Pawan Uttam, who put in wonderful performances and strived hard to stay afloat on this loose script, the play needs no further appraisal. The third day came like a breath of fresh air with Jeev Patels, Mister Behram

Going by the way the crowd thronged the venue of the festival, it is surely climbing up in the charts of popularity.

A scene from Mr. Behram

next performance, Gajab Kahani, though this time around both the scenography and the text were engrossing. Adapted brilliantly by Pradeep Vaidya from original novel The Elephant Journey- by Portuguese Novelist Jose Saramago, the novel metaphorically traces the journey of an elephant and his mahout as they travel from Lisbon to Vienna, being gifted from the King of Portugal to Austria. Director Mohit Takalkar has once again sprung a surprise with this interesting production. Looking at various people, situations and terrains, from the eyes of the elephant, it has strong undercurrents of the socio-political situation, which draws contemporary parallels. Having a demanding cast of nearly 25 actors, it is a tragic story of the pachyderm and its caretaker, laudably enacted by Geetanjali Kulkarni and Nachiket Purnapatre. Having followed Mohit’s work closely, one can say with assurance that this is a step ahead in his journey as a director, and amply reflects the experiences he has gathered, being exposed both nationally and internationally to doyens of world theatre. Young and promising playwright Ram Ganesh Kamatham’s Creeper was adapted craftily by Irawati Karnik in the Marathi play Mangutiwar Maysabha. The playwright delves into the lives of two distinct characters. One submerged in a life of the modern technology of Internet, Orkut, Chatting, Webcam, MMS, Pornography, a life of online virtuality and the other a stickler to convention, preferring to stay with writing letters on paper. Akin to a creeper, it talks of his life… her life... their life… their surroundings…. the changing times, entwining and reacting to these changes. Though Ameya Wagh and Anita Date, both experienced actors, try to make sense of this ensemble, there is a pricking feeling that the playwright has a lot on his mind and surely relevant to the present, but its articulation in the dramatised form doesn’t somehow seem to fall in place. This festival is certainly an interesting platform for artistes to showcase their work and its intentions seem very clear. Going by the way the crowd thronged the venue of the festival, it is surely climbing up in the charts of popularity. This festival is an important enterprise to a theatre that yearns for a good space to perform and an enthusiastic audience rejoicing and plodding on its efforts.

Five plays, each with their distinct flavour, form and treatment, were up for staging, with four of them celebrating their premier shows. Interestingly three of these were translations/adaptations.

who have done this play in Maharashtra, seem to just re- run the original, with no attempts to interpret it differently. It surely was the power of the playwright and the first director, Jabber Patel, which kept the ball rolling. However one yearns for it to take on a different hue or else it becomes run of the mill and lethargic in its presentation as was evident from the show performed at the inaugural session. Close on the heels on Tein’s play came Abhi Na Jao Chodkar written by Amal

translated by Shanta Gokhale. It was a top notch play, not only for the script, which unfortunately wasn’t exceptional, though the translation did more than justice to it, but the way all the theatrical elements were gracefully woven together, to create this impressive production - the realistic acting and the phenomenal performances by Gajanan Paranjpe, Padnanabh Bind or Ruta Pandit, the set and light design, the costumes and notably the music. It revolves around Mr Behram, a successful lawyer in the days of the British Raj, how he adopts a mere tribal , nurtures him not only into his profession but also ropes him into his family as his son-in –law, prides in watching him grow and excel in his work. He is possessive of this boy to the point of being attracted to him. In return Nanu, adores Behram, is ready to succumb to all his demands, but fails to understand the passion with which Behram looks at him. This story which is multilayered, is beautifully unravelled by director Aniruddha Khutwad, who once again proved his command over his projects by getting the most out of his actors. Having travelled abroad for theatre festivals, it is hard to miss the undeterred attention meted out to scenography, which at times, and often uncomfortably yet unfailingly, draws ones attention away from the main text. This was the precise feeling I got as I watched the