A renowned Marathi film and theatre director, writer and actor whose recent play SANJYA CHHAYA has received a positive response. He speaks about the theme of his latest play, the need to do subjects close to his heart and ideology and his journey with Prashant Dalvi, the famous script writer. The duo have been friends since their college days and have given some well known plays like WADA CHIREBANDI, DHYANI MANI, GANDHI VIRUDH GANDHI, CHAAR CHAUGHI and many others.
By Neeta Kolhatkar
Let's start with your recent play-SANJYA CHHAYA, a rather serious theme regarding children moving out, changes in families and members coping with them?
Younger generation moving out is one aspect. More than the recent changes in society which throw up new challenges and how families learn to deal with those changes. Now, our medical science has developed and all live rather long lives, so it is not one particular theme. It reflects on society, how we should mould our perception, how we should look at the current situation and how we should react. Sanjya and Chhaya are two people and the story revolves around them, how they are living in the present. Extremely constructive things are mentioned and the audience gave us positive feedback. They were happy there was no lecture but they have been given ideas that are easy to implement. Now this reflects on Prashant Dalvi, the writer. His style of writing is simple, straight and non-preachy. He gives insights through life's experiences. Char Chaughi, Dhyani Mani, Chahul, Celebration, Get Well Soon and other plays, all reflect real life examples. This play is presented in a lively playful manner which gives us a new way of thinking. It is not a time pass play, but has a good combination of some seriousness, some light mood.
Your lead pair, Vaibhav Mangale and Nirmiti Sawant, are well-known comedy stars. Was it tough to cast them in a play that has a message for families?
See, it is interesting in our set up. I dislike giving people labels and putting them in specific categories like comedy, character, serious and so on. An actor is an actor, they deliver the parts given to them. For example, when Anupam Kher was given the role of the father in Saransh, he wasn't aged. Why go far, see Vaibhav's role in WADA CHIREBANDI, it is completely different. Nirmiti Sawant has acted in serious roles too. Actors have to play any character given to them. Also, importantly, they don't create these genres, if the writer has depicted a certain character and the person is selected we can't fix a label to that person. There is a lot of misinterpretation of comedy in our industry. Tragedy and comedy are interpreted as funny and serious. Now a person in the most tragic circumstances can have the knack to say something that will cheer up everyone or it can be the other way round too. Depends on what is written for that character. We have different actors, Vaibhav-Nirmiti, Sunil Abhyankar from Pune who is acting in many television serials and plays, Yogini Chowk, theatre artiste who has studied drama, we have a mix of big star cast. Every story Dalvvi has written, I have directed be it theatre, films or serial, I have been lucky to direct every line he has written.
Yes, this combination of Prashant Dalvi-Chandrakant Kulkarni has been popular across various platforms. What gets you two going? It is beyond just friendship?
This is my tenth play of long duration with him. We have worked together across platforms, languages and mediums. It is a friendship of over 40 years, we have grown up together. Our talent and realisation of each other's skills developed together. We have known each other from college and we had our own organisation. Together we have argued, worked, and entered competitions together. He would write one-act, long plays, stories, experimental plays, children's plays, competitive plays and the journey in life was together. In this journey, I understood fully what he was writing, why he was writing- I got the purpose of his writing immediately. It is not like we don't argue, we do have our share. But we discuss, change, develop, scrap, rethink, and write numerous drafts. One thing is clear, both know each other's intention when we present a particular idea and thought. This helps in focussing on the theme and is presented in an uniformed manner to the audience.
Do you and Dalvi try to capture the mood and environment in the society?
Correct. In fact recently, I had reflected upon this and written about it. If you see Dalvi's plays, his unique quality is, he doesn't churn out plays dime a dozen. He is a theatre artiste himself so he keeps the audience in mind when embarking on writing any new play. He has a clear idea of a framework of any play. He keeps jotting his thoughts, patterns and he dwells on it. He makes observations on the environment and development in our society. More than this, he reflects on his life. He looks at himself minutely, can he change anything. Now I will share one thing, when he wrote the play, AUGANDA, we had just finished our teens and just got into college. When he wrote CHAAR CHAUGHI it was on Stree Mukti Sanghatana, revolving around feminism, financial independence of women, problems they faced in various institutions including traditional families; he was a psychology student and during a workshop, he got the idea of DHYANI MANI and has penned a beautiful script. Then when we become adults, we begin to decipher between entertainment, luxury and needs due to the impact of globalisation, since we began to get all products. So you see, Dalvi has always written about events, impacts of cultural, socio-economic developments and about particular times in our lives. Moreover, till he dwells on it, thinks on it deeply, he doesn't proceed to write scripts. This is his speciality, which makes his reflections rather accurate. When do we say we like a play and it has impacted us? When it is for sheer entertainment and that also we need, two hours break we take and it rejuvenates us. Then there are other types, where a play feels the pulse of the people. These plays where the audience can relate to the subject and characters. It gives an opportunity to people who can relate to a line, dialogue and situation. Audience can relate and feel, yes this is how I have experienced, the emotions depicted as exactly what I may have felt in a similar situation. This realisation is also important for a theatre buff because they feel content and happy. It is a catharsis for those performing and those seeing the play. This pleasure is immense, because one can be entertained even through a serious play. Dalvi and I believe in one theory. Which play can we call successful? When a person is left impacted and feels different after watching a play. The experience should leave a person thinking, feeling, experiencing differently after watching any play, it should touch us, it should impact us and make us think. It should inspire us to do something good. There is a huge process before he pens a script. It is not like commissioned writing. Actors should want to feel like being part of it, producers should feel like associating with it and the audience should look forward to the plays written by a person.
With audiences having so many opportunities to view serials, OTP platforms for films, plays are there, but does theatre have a unique space in people's lives even today?
Yes, audiences have far many options to entertain themselves today, yet theatre enjoys a unique appeal even today. It is only because of the die-hard theatre buffs. Even today, people take it on themselves to see the advertisements or listings, they see the timings and choose a specific day or a particular auditorium and set aside two hours of their time to give themselves that free time to see a play intently. They enjoy their experience and I equate this experience of watching plays with meditation. Consequently, it is immensely satisfying if there is a good play. My habit of seeing a play, my habit of going to theatre for plays and giving that time for this hobby and that as a writer, director we owe it to such audiences. We both strive to achieve this goal, because these theatre buffs are what drives us to deliver quality plays.
Do you get a good response from theatre lovers and does it mean you are accountable to them?
We always get a good response and that means it is our responsibility as a writer and director to deliver quality plays. When anyone from the audience comes and tells us they read our names to see a particular play and are confident they will enjoy it. It definitely is satisfying but that pleasure is extremely short-lived because with that the responsibility increases. We feel we are answerable to such an audience. If they appreciate our work then we feel we must reciprocate this expectation. We are accountable and we deliver commercial plays also seriously. I don't like this term, commercial, it is better to say professionally produced plays. I don't see a person who comes to see my play is only spending that amount. The person is committed to engage in your play and sit committedly to view it. They are willing to engage in that play for that entire duration. Our responsibility as theatre professionals definitely increases.
Would you do (direct/act) any play that is against your ideology?
I will not do it. I will emphatically tell you, we accept theatre is an influential medium. Once you believe that plays can deliver your message effectively, then why should you deliver plays to just feed your stomach or purse? I will not take up any project just because acting, writing and direction are my profession. What purpose will it serve? It is contradictory to what one believes and is as a person. Since one has selected theatre and one believes in its essence to impact the audience then one has to be honest with oneself-with one's beliefs and with one's work. One has to regularly assess one's role and introspect. Dalvi and I don't believe in any one formula for success. We never repeat the same storyline or subject, we take risks and try new things. We take up a play or script only if we are convinced it wholly and we ensure it is delivered to the audience with that conviction. We select and plan that project-script for play, serial or documentary, only after we are convinced about it. It is a creative rejection if we refuse some subject.
Neeta Kolhatkar is an independent journalist and theatre aficionado.
