Noted Marathi actor Neena Kulkarni is back on the Marathi stage after a hiatus of seven years, essaying the title role in HAMIDABAICHI KOTHI - the play that launched her career. It is definitely a trip down the memory lane, agrees Kulkarni in an interview with Deepa Ranade. She adds that the play is likely to be a block buster if the the opening shows are any indication - HAMIDABAICHI KOTHI is indeed drawing full houses.  Deepa Ranade How does it feel to step back into HAMIDABAICHI KOTHI after 31 years? And to essay the role that Vijaya Mehta once immortalized. I began acting with this play; it was my first full-fledged role in Marathi theatre. It was the beginning of everything for me. I met Vijaya (Mehta) bai through this play. She became my Guru and I learnt everything about acting from her. It was the beginning for me to think about acting as a career option. This is the third time I am getting back with HAMIDABAICHI KOTHI. We staged the first show of the play in 1978 when Vijaya bai played Hamidabai and I played her 19-year-old daughter Shabbo. In '85, Vijayabai made a tele film on the play and she chose me for the same role of Shabbo though by then I was already married and I even had my daughter! Now when I was offered to play the role of Hamidabai, it was interesting that the play should come back to me with the title role. I have a 31 year-long association with the play. Do you play Hamidabai differently from Vijaya Mehta or would you stick to your Guru's tried and tested way? Shabbo's part which I played was a bigger part lengthwise. Hamidabai's role is restricted to the first half of the play only. It is interesting to step into a role that was once played by Vijaya bai but that doesn't scare me for all because she's like my mother for all practical purposes. To say that I am copying her wouldn't be right even if I belong to her school of acting. But I will follow her method. What is the most challenging aspect about this role? When I play Hamida bai today, I find it is the most difficult role because it is so one dimensional. What is also distracting is that I know the play too well. I know each and every line and move and its various interpretations because I have already done it twice before. To erase those vivid memories and think afresh is challenging. Because this version of the play is completely different from the original - it retains nothing of the original play - not even the music which was an integral part, as the story was about a kothi singer. Now the story has been modified to suit a dancer. The change is commendable in itself, as it is the director Chandrakant Kulkarni's view point. That has given me an insight into what I may want to do in future - do direction. What are your memories of the play? It is an original play penned by Anil Barve on the basis of his meetings with real life characters - of a vanishing tradition - when kothi singers and mujras were being replaced by film records. Originally it was a five-hour play and it had to be snipped to fit into the regular time frame. It was a classic back then. The play hardly had 175 shows then but since it was directed by Vijaya Mehta, it remained etched in the public memory. Her creations are unforgettable. When I did the play in 1978, I was Neena Joshi. Vijaya bai, Nana Patekar, Ashok Saraf and Bharati Achrekar were in the cast. Bharati sang in the production. What are you bringing to the Kothi this time? I thought I could bring in some of those old time values. There was a thehrav in our acting even though we were all young then - Nana, Ashok, Bharti and I. But then, we did only one play unlike the actors today who are multi-tasking in TV, films and in cinema. I keep to my own role and I don't interfere with anybody else's part. I am a self-contained actor. What I would like to bring to the kothi is the same impact that Hamidabai had back then. I hope I can take all the comparisons in good spirit. What would be your prediction about its box office run? It's going to be a blockbuster! Everybody is curious to watch it. It is a weekend play and we shall be visiting old theatres all over Maharashtra. Of the 25 shows, 13 shows will be staged in Mumbai and 12 all across Maharashtra. I am excited about how audiences outside Mumbai will react to it. We saw you in DEHBHAAN seven years ago. Have you been too busy with TV and movies to spare time for theatre? An actor is always working. After DHYANI MANI in 1995 I did PREM PATRA, DEHBHAAN, WEDDING ALBUM and MAHATMA VERSUS GANDHI. I do only one thing a day and I am working in all three mediums - theatre, movies and television. I just completed two international projects- John Madden's The Best Exotic Hotel Marigold Hotel starring Dev Patel and Judi Dench, and a French tele serial shot in Jaipur wherein I had the major role of the Queen Mother. Television soaps are my daily bread - Doan Ghadicha Daav and Lajja are on. Rann was my last film. I have shot for Parveen Dabas' film Sahi Bande Galat Dandhe and Binoy Moitra's Chhoo Le Asman and I also had a small role in Sindhutai Sakpal. Now it is not about climbing trees but about going up the mountain and breathing free. It's a personal journey for me now. What is the state of contemporary Marathi theatre according to you? I have been part of the golden era of Marathi theatre comprising playwrights like Jaywant Dalvi and Anil Barve, and directors like Vijaya Mehta. So I get hassled by the lack of concentration levels today but what can one do? Even I am doing multiple projects today. The kind of conviction we had about the play back then is missing today. Basic faculty of observation is missing. Probably I was like that at a young age. Do your children aspire to be actors? Both my children are not into acting. Both are behind the scenes - while my daughter is in television production, my son is in advertising. He is very handsome though and as for acting, he may find his way. *Deepa Ranade is a film and theatre reviewer. 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Interview 2 Timira Gupta Jyoti Dogra Lillette Dubey Mahesh Dattani Chandan Roy Sanyal Sunil Shanbag (ii) Jairaj Patil Jehan Manekshaw K Raja Ravi Verma Sankar Venkateswaran Heisnam Tomba Hariharan Jamini Pathak Hilda David Satish Alekar Vir Das Ranjit Hoskote Om Katare Nipun Dharmadhikari Satyadev Dubey Dipan Ray Stefan Kaegi Zafar Karachiwala Dakxin Bajrange Makarand Sathe Ramu Ramanathann Cyrus Dastur Shekhar Sen Benjamin Juhel Chaitanya Tamhane And Sudeep Modak Sujata Mehta Asif Basra Barry John Nagesh Bhosale Astad Deboo Manhar Gadhia Sandesh Bhandare Usha Ganguli Sushama Deshpande & Suhas Joshi Jyoti Vyas Arundhati Nag Habib Tanvir Ramu Ramanathan Pushan Kripalani Harold Pinter Rajeev Ravindranathan Rajendra Gupta Viji Iyengar Sunil Shanbag Darshan Jariwalla Smriti Irani Atul Kumar1 Ashwin Gidwani Toral Shah Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal1 Shaili Sathyu Sanjay Narvekar Rohini Hattangady Dr. Ashok Ranade Vandana Sajnani Mahesh Elkunchwar Madhu Rye Mahesh Thakur Srimathi Madiman Kinnari Vohra Joy Fernandes C.K. Thakkar Jameel Khan Anupama Jayaram Lilelette Dubey Avatar Gill Dharmendra Gohil Rajesh Puri Kumud Mishra Kumar Shahu Meenal Patel Mujeeb Khan Anant Mudra Utkarsh Mazumdar Shekhar Sen1 Manav Kaul Rati Agnihotri Smita Jaykar Uday Chandra Rahul Da Cunha Atul Kumar Manoj Joshi Jaimini Pathak Boman Irani Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal Naseerudin Shah Joy Fernandez Kamlesh Mota Dinesh Thakur    Discussion Board

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