There is one very good reason to watch the Pune based Aasakta Kalamanch's TICHEE 17 PRAKARNE, an adaptation in Marathi of British playwright Martin Crimp's ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE(first performed at the Royal Court Theatre, London in 1997). The group has been consistently striving to engage with different and newer kinds of plays, and possibilities of performance. This particular play, its adaptation as well as its production are a case in point. The India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) has justly supported it under its New Performance Programme.
The adaptation by Pradeep Vaiddya may draw comparisons from those familiar with the original text but even so, it is impossible to miss its ethos. At the heart of the play is a woman; more of a fleeting protagonist (or several protagonists together). In an unusual and powerful narrative, the playwright almost gruesomely reminds us not only about the sex/ gender politics and cliches that women are subject to (subtly and not so subtly), but he also adds another layer by centering the woman around some of the most compelling issues of our time- conflict and terrorism.
In Vaiddya's adaptation, the woman protagonist Aashi is seen, or rather deliberately screened through the eyes of several characters in different scenes, which though episodic in nature, are randomly placed. There is no apparent connection between 'the 17 scenarios of her life' that are played out. The non-linearity here assumes a different character altogether, and the experience is at once unsettling and challenging. If we can curb our natural instinct to seek or pry meaning from it, it can be a rewarding experience.
What is very interesting is that the play challenges our viewing and 'plays' with forms of representation such as film. In doing so, it highlights the essential aspects of the drama and the plight of the woman Aashi who though ephemeral is rendered real. There is no joy here and the constant shifting of images is dark and disturbing. This is a sad play evoking the underlying violence, which is active and passive in turn. Aasakta's version reflects on Indian accounts of terror and violence, more significantly, Kashmir.
Mohit Takalkar, Artistic Director of Aasakta Kalamanch has had four young and upcoming directors -Alok Rajwade, Nipun Dharmadhikari, Sarang Sathaye and Varun Narvekar co-direct it. Since the play offers various perspectives and 'ways of seeing', the Aasakta team felt that it would benefit from multiple directorial points of view. The joint effort has produced a work that is laudable for its ability to negotiate the various scenes almost seamlessly, while staying true to the deliberate disjointedness of the text.
Performances by the cast - Abhay Mahajan, Amey Wagh, Anita Date, Ashish Mehta, Jitendra Joshi, Mrinmayee Godbole, Omkar Govardhan, Parna Pethe, Renuka Daftardar, Rupali Bhave, Sagar Deshmukh, Sayalee Phatak, Siddharth Menon and Vinayak Lele are empowered by the script, and the actors- almost all of them make smooth transitions between characters and scenes. Anita Date's Aashi appears as the only fixed character but her presence is not constant. Her absence from some scenes is a unique re-inforcement of her personality that is both marginal and central. Date holds her part well enough but it can be better.
Similarly, the production overall could have also benefitted from a more stylish attempt, especially where certain scenes are concerned. Watch it nevertheless for a theatre experience that is not only painfully gritty and provoking, but which also makes a significant departure from the more familiar conventions of the theatre.
