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Sheen wears off Marathi theatre
UNITED NEWS OF INDIA
Pune, Dec 28: Marathi theatre, which reflects the cultural ethos of the state, took a downward plunge during the year 1997 as many major theatre groups failed to come up with a single production. The decline in the production has been steady over the years, but the shying away of many groups owing to the economics of the trade has been particularly telling this year, says Mohan Kulkarni, whose organisation `Manoranjan' has been serving as a coordinator of cultural programmes here for the last 25 years. Major theatre groups like `Natya Sampada', `Indian National Theatre', `Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh', `Ashwami' and others have not not been able to bring out a single production, says Kulkarni.Weaning away of Marathi theatre artistes by Hindi television serials is perhaps one of the reasons for the decline in production, says Kulkarni. The opinion was seconded by Rajiv Naik of `Antarnatya', who has produced a three-episode serial for Doordarshan on the history of Marathi theatre.
Almost half of the artistes working now on Hindi television serials have had their roots in Marathi theatre, points out Naik. He, however, feels that there is no reason to worry about since a theatre artiste is always a `theatre artiste' at heart and would always find the time to dabble in theatre despite his or her commitments with the small box. Veteran artistes like Dr Shriram Lagoo, even at their advanced age, never miss a chance to do a play, he says optimistically. Big names, however, failed to strike a chord with the audience this year. Stalwarts like Dr Lagoo and Nilu Phule came together for the first time in the play `Premachi Goshth', says Kulkarni. The play, unfortunately, did not not click, probably because the subject was a little too philosophical, he avers. Failure of a play, however, is not an indication of the decline of theatre, according to noted theatre personality and director of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Dr Mohan Agashe. He points out that there are good
days and bad days for theatre and it cannot reach a milestone at every corner. The same view is projected by director, University of Pune's Centre for Performing Arts, Satish Alekar. He says there have been ups and downs in marathi theatre right since the first play `Sita Swayamvar', written and directed by vishnudas bhave, which was staged in sangli on november five, 1843. Despite the trials and tribulations Marathi theatre has survived and will continue to survive because of the middle class strata who are historically connoisseurs of theatre. The maharashtrian middle-class society visiting theatre assumes the proportion of a ritual beginning with purchasing `gajra' from the seller outside, having a `vada pav' and seeing the play . On returning home, the propaganda of the play in the neighbourhood, says Alekar.
Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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