Frankly, I have missed out on a few very important plays. Since I primarily work in Gujrati theatre, I get to see a lot of Gujarati plays. I really loved a Marathi play named AMAR PHOTO STUDIO written by Manaswini Lata Ravindra and directed by Nipun Dharmadhikari. I actually watched it a couple of times. I wanted to understand the plot deeper. I also liked the way the play was treated. All the actors have performed brilliantly contributing to the overall impact of the play. But according to me, the most noteworthy characteristics of this play are its essence, central idea and the production values. I think this play while managing commercial equations stays true to its experimental nature. The actors in this play have previously gained fame by acting in famous TV serials. The average audience flocks to the theatre to see these actors live on stage, take a few selfies and autographs. The actors and the director have been successful in engaging this audience.
Your favourite 'adda' to see a play ?
I wouldn't state a particular theatre venue as my personal favourite. Having said that, I think personally, I have enjoyed watching not only theatre productions but also other forms of performing arts at the Prithvi theatre and at the NCPA. Both these venues beckon performers of all types. Also, these theatres are well equipped with cutting edge sound and lighting inventories thus enabling directors and technicians to work freely without expunging any visual or auditory impact. One must grab any and every opportunity to witness the performing arts at these venues.
Your favourite playwright?
I think my favourite playwright is the one, who helped me visualise the theme, character's background, and the overall story as per his vision. My favourite playwright therefore has to be P.L.Deshpande (Pu.La.). I don't read much, but the one author whose literature compels me to read has been Pu.La's. Readers often say that his writing style is simple and can be understood by all types of readers. Another fact remains that even if someone else would have tried to create the same literature that this guy did, he would stand no comparison. Even Pu. La. himself knew this, and as a result, all of his literature is royalty free!
Your favourite play-character ?
My favourite character of all time has to be "Hari Tatya", a creation of Pu.La's. The main reason for loving this character is that the character's behavioural characteristic is hardly to be ever found among an infinite pool of character. Whilst living in the present, this character portrays a story which finds its proceedings in the past, and we start living with the character in a timeline, clearly in the past. This character makes you fall in love with him because of his simplistic loving nature and sheer innocence.
A play you would like to see filmed. Why?
I think when a play is adapted to a film, the storyline tends to widens needlessly and sometimes indulges in liberties that don't make sense. Still I think that TEE, written by Rohan Tillu and directed by Pritesh Sodha, a play that I have acted in, should be picturised in an Indian context. The story of this play is simple yet thrilling.
A novel/short story you would like to see on stage? Why?
So as I have earlier established, I am a die-hard fan of Pu.La. and I am so glad that many of his stories are being staged . There are two books which are very close to my heart. "Apurvai" which is his travelogue of the western world and "Purvarang" which is his travelogue of the Asian countries. I love travelling myself and I relate with the genuinely funny moments of the story . Though they had been performed by him as a dramatic reading , I feel these masterpieces would be equally entertaining as plays as we would be able to finally see the characters and the locations which Pu.La. has already made us imagine so well with his divine narrative skills.
The most hilarious play you have seen?
It has to be GELA MADHAV KUNI KADE, written by Shree Vasant Sabnis and directed by Rajiv Shinde. It was enacted by Prashant Damle. This play exhausts the audience with laughter, courtesy Prashant Damle and Vinay Yedekar's spot-on and accurate humour delivery and punches. There are moments in this play when I laughed just at the sight of Prashant Damle making an entry - so superb is his sense of timing.
A play, which is overhyped?
It wouldn't be wise to say whether a play is overhyped or not because the audience response is directly proportional to the quality and the overall impact of the play. For a moment let us say a play which is being considered as an overhyped play is doing well at the box office. It would be wrong to say that it is undeserving.
An important play (but ignored)?
I think that if a play is important it simply cannot be ignored. I agree that every play has its own limitations and boundaries. I would say that I do not know of such a play which is important but has been completely ignored.
A play character you would like to "dialogue" with?
"Appa Saheb Belvalkar" from NATASAMRAT written by V.V.Shirwadkar. This character lived as an actor. Even after retiring this character didn't confine his acting to the walls of the theatre but brought it along with himself to his home. Hence I would love to converse with this character being an actor myself.
A passage from an important play that you can recite?
From EKA GURAKHYACHE MAHAKAVYA, written by Mayur Deval and directed by Dr. Prasad Bhide. It goes on like this:
"Mee ? Me kon ? Ko aham ya janma nantarcha pahilya akroshapasun te soham Ethvarlya chirantan vatevarla me ek vatsaru aahe Swatahachi juni olakh visrun vishwacha ya pasaryat swatala navyane shodhu pahnara tooo me me Kalidas"
A classical play that you should have read?
I have had the opportunity to read numerable Marathi, Gujarati and Hindi plays but I have missed out on classic English plays and English Literature. When I see a classic play like HAMLET written by Shakespeare being stayed in Marathi , I feel the urge to read the original script in English. I am very proud of the beauty and variety of Indian literature but I am sure that English has a different allure about it which I should explore.
A play that changed your perception about the theatre?
Well , when I was working in the tourism industry , I had certain perceptions about theatre. I felt the stage had limitations when compared to television or films. But my debut play TEE shattered all my preconceived notions about theatre . The play taught me that the horror genre can be handled on stage; that a table and a chair can be magically transformed into a train or a horse cart ! And it taught me a great deal by making me perform eight different characters ! That's when I truly understood the meaning of the quote " A film can show you the most beautiful moon, but in theatre , an actor speaks and the audience create their own moons just by looking at a plain cyclorama ! "
How do you regard the Mumbai theatre scene? The theatre world in Mumbai is not restricted to its regional language Marathi but also extends itself to other languages like Hindi, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Kutchhi, Bengali and so on. Many commercial as well as experimental plays thrive on this multilingual theatrical plane. The audience who watches these plays is often heterogeneous. Needless to say, one must ascertain for a fact that theatre is a big business in Mumbai. If I talk specifically about Marathi theatre my observations do not paint a promising picture. The traditional Marathi audience is somewhat distracted by other forms of entertainment like mobile phones, games, internet based series etc. For some reason this traditional audience doesn't seem to be united enough to strengthen the Marathi theatre. On the contrary, I have seen Gujarati plays being staged on five or six days days in a week with shows getting audience numbers in excess of 500 to 600 per show. I think one of the important factors contributing to this is that the larger percentage of Marathi audiences happens to be in a job and that of a Gujarati audience happens to be primarily employers or businessman. A rough estimate of the Gujarati audience watching Gujarati plays would be more than 2 lakhs per year. Again a main reason for this fact is communal unity which clearly lacks in the case of Marathi audiences. A newspaper boasts advertisements of more than 15 to 20 Marathi plays at a time but the number distribution of audiences is rather sparse.
Have you read any interesting books/articles concerning the theatre? Why did you find them interesting?
I believe the performing arts can best be learnt by performing ! By making mistakes and learning from them. But yes , books which guide us and give us insights into the various technical aspects about theatre are indeed very precious.
'Vachik Abhinay' is a Marathi book by the Late veteran actor Dr. Shriram Lagoo. It helped me a great deal for working on different voices, preserving my voice and helped me understand how to use my breath.
If you have ever been a part of a theatre production/s, can you recall an event that was insightful, significant or simply humorous?
My mother tongue is Marathi. I acted in a Gujarati play essaying the role of a South Indian character. This itself speaks of complexity and diversity that actors must be capable of. I recall that a just couple of hours before the grand opening of my play we had yet to rehearse a couple of scenes. The entire cast had a huge responsibility of improvising. This wouldn't have been a daunting task if the play were to be in Marathi, but I had to prepare myself in Gujarati for an audience of about 600 to 700. I kept working intensely till the final bell and went on to do the first couple of shows. This incident taught me a lot as an actor. If I have accepted the responsibility of playing the part, then backing out is out of the question.
Can you think of a foreign production that you found remarkable? Why?
I haven't had any chance of watching a foreign production yet. But I would love to watch THE WOMAN IN BLACK, written by Stephen Mallatratt which is based upon Susan Hill's novel of the same name.
Your favourite director/actor/music or set designer?
A significant Indian production that you may have witnessed?
I would mention the production of THE MAIDS written by Jean Genet and directed by Omkar Bhatkar , which I saw at the St. Andrews Centre for Philosophy and Performing Arts. It is a significant Indian production for me because the actors, embrace and adapt to a foreign language and immerse the audience in a foreign setting. The audience is seated in an intimate way, surrounding the staging area. It feels homely and the actors maximise the immersive experience. The play involves you, disturbs you, and entertains you.
Life in the theatre without the humble batata-wada or the cutting chai... or can you recall the best gastronomic experience you've had in the precincts of the theatre to date?
The nature of relation between theatre and food is very intertwined for me. Many a times I have acted in Gujarati plays which were staged as early as 10 a.m. in the morning. Naturally, the production would provide us with typical Gujrati breakfast items such as khandvi, dhokla, fafda, kesar jalebi, etc. A tour of a Gujarati play is equivalent to a food tour. I recollect eating jalebi fafda as early as 3:00 a.m. in the morning. Also worth mentioning is the street food that we used to eat when we were in Ahmedabad. We roamed the streets enjoying the food after the shows!
List Your Play
Omkar Tirodkar
