Play of words

While plays in Marathi, Hindi and English are quite popular, drama lovers are also getting to watch plays in other languages.



GOING REGIONAL: City theatre lovers are getting a chance

to witness many regional language plays

LIGHTS, action, drama... The stage is set, and the artists are ready. There are no retakes here. That's theatre and actors at their best. But, how is it different? The fact that the city is also witnessing plays in different languages, showing that we wish to enjoy the best that the stage has to offer. While Marathi, Hindi and English theatre are quite a rage with drama lovers, Sindhi, Bengali and Gujarati plays are also going houseful. Rajesh Mehta, a diehard theatre fan, says “It’s really fun to watch plays in the language I am most familiar with. Being a Gujarati, I totally enjoy the staged performances. I can relate to the actors and the concepts.” Pune’s Gujarati Mitra Mandal has been getting plays for the Gujarati families in Pune.

“We organise at least four plays in a year. And all of them go houseful. In fact, last Friday we featured Chal mann Mauj karile, a Gujarati play which is a part of a Mumbai theatre group. Another play in the pipeline is Kanji Virudh Kanji starring Sachin Khedekar. Puneite Taruben Shah, a playwright, says, “I have written at least 20 nataks, and all have been thoroughly enjoyed by the audience. After having received an overwhelming response in Pune, some of them have been staged in other cities as well. My latest offering, Maa Baap Ne Bhulsho Nai, was staged recently in Pune, Ahmedabad and other cities too." The response to plays has been such that Pune’s Dishari group, a platform for Bengali plays, is organising a theatre festival. “This year, we are going international. A prominent group from Dhaka is going to perform at the three-day festival. B i b a s h Chakraborty’s Jagakhi Churi and Aneek theatre’s Punor Janmo are also the part of the theatre fest. Dishari is also staging Agni Jal, whose original script was written by Girish Karnad. It has been translated by Bibash Chakraborty,” informs Madhumita Ghosh, festival coordinator.

Aakorik, the Bengali theatre group which staged Bristi O Katha and Nana Ranger Din recently, is more about audio-visual performance based on light, sound and poetry. “We, as a theatre group, stage poetic drama taken directly from Bengali and Sanskrit literature. A major chunk of our works involves productions from classical texts. I also direct musicdriven plays,” says creative director Shiladitya Roy. Sindhi plays also have their share of audiences in the city. Prem Advani, an 81-year-old organiser, says, “Sindhi plays in Pune are enjoyed not just by Sindhis but also non-Sindhis. Changu Mangu 420 which was staged this October was well received by the audience. Aayo Navo Zamano is another play that we are planning to bring to the city." What is the most interesting, perhaps, is that the city has theatre connoisseurs who enjoy Sanskrit plays. Says Prasad Joshi, a professor of Sanskrit, “In January, we have a competition in which students from all over Maharashtra stage acts in Sanskrit language. This draws huge crowds, and is one of the biggest events for us.” Pune is known to be a cultural melting pot. And with so many vernacular plays making their way to city, theatre lovers have a reason to smile.