Sandesh Kulkarni Writer/ Actor/ Diretor [Marathi Theatre ] 1. Which is the last best play you saw and why? SUMITRA KI KAHANI by Vijay Tendulkar. The production I saw was directed by Chetan Datar. I saw the performance in Sudarshan Hall � An intimate space in Pune. It is one of those evenings in theatre when everything works out right. It was a brilliant performance and it haunted me for many days. Tendulkar was always ahead of his times and speaks about a minority culture in a humane and an incisive manner. 2. Your favourite adda to see a play� Snehasadan(A small hall in Pune), Bharat Natya Mandir, Pune and Prithvi. 3. Your favourite playwright� Vijay Tendulkar, Arthur Miller, Mahesh Elkunchwar 4. Your favourite play-character� Many.. But Laxmi in SAKHARAM BINDER by Tendulkar , Bal in VASNASI JEERNANI by Elkunchwar. 5. A play you would like to see filmed. Why? Let Plays be plays. 6. A novel/short story you would like to see on stage? Why? �Aaj Amod Sunasi Aale� a short story in Marathi written by Anand Mokashi. It has many dramatic possibilities. The struggle of a person to digest the death of his son and trying to find meaning in all this struggle of life and death has a solid back drop of nature with rains falling continuously. 7. The most hilarious play you have seen� LOSE CONTROL by Hemant Dhome 8. A play, which is over-hyped� I am biased towards the theatre. If a play is hyped, let it be. That hype also sustains interest in theatre especially since theatre has never had it easy. 9. An important play (but ignored)� CHIRANJEEV SAUBHAGYAKANKSHINI by Tendulkar, VASANAKAND by Elkunchwar. 10. A play character you would like to �dialogue� with� Not really. 11. A passage from an important play that you can recite� Leela Benare�s long monologue in SHANTATA COURT CHALU AAHE. 12. A classical play that you should have read� I want to read all of Shakespeare and Shaw. 13. A play that changed your perception about the theatre� ATMAKATHA by Mahesh Elkunchwar 14. How do you regard the Mumbai theatre scene? Fast like our times. I want something that will stay with me for a longer time. 15. Have you read any interesting books/articles concerning the theatre? Why did you find them interesting? It always helps to know what others are doing. Meeting people and chatting with them is becoming difficult so one has to understand them by reading. It gives a sense of direction in which I have to move. 16. If you have ever been a part of a theatre production/s, can you recall an event that was insightful, significant or simply humorous? When I was staging Tendulkar�s SHANTATA COURT CHALU AAHE for the Lalit Kala Kendra of Pune University, we had called Tendulkar. We drew many insights from the discussions we had with him. For eg- In the last part of SHANTATA when the hysteria resides and the characters look at the wounded and collapsed Benare, we had staged it in such a way that the characters feel guilty about what they have done and try to pacify the situation. Tendulkar suggested that they are ignorant about what they have done and therefore will not feel guilty. I was shocked at the suggestion and it opened an understanding about human behaviour which was very disturbing. Again when I was in London for the Royal Court theatre workshop for writers, I had gone to see a play with my play�s director Josie Rourke. The play was full of sets, costumes and lights which I could never have dreamed of. I was awed by the lavishness of it all and kept on talking about it. My director asked me how did I design my sets back home. I answered, my productions are on a shoe string budget and I do not have any sets. I just use table and chairs. She asked who designs the table and chair. I paused and this made me think of the set design. The precision which she was demanding was not based on budget- It was on perspective which can make any object used on stage meaningful. Later Tendulkar had said an interesting line- Anything on stage which is unnecessary is ugly. So place only what is necessary but that too with precision and meaning. Nothing should be casual. 17. Can you think of a foreign production that you found remarkable? Why? VINCENT. It was inspired by the life of Vincent Van Gogh. In the play, Vincent in his twenties. He falls in love with an elderly Land lady, runs away from her due to social pressures and comes back as a lost person and a wasted artist. At the end he once again starts drawing which he had left for many years. It had a very realistic setting and the detailing was fantastic. The smell of the tea boiling in the kettle, the meat being roasted filled the space and we were drawn inside the play. I could start smelling the period in which Van Gogh must have lived. The life in those times was hard and the period was recreated for me. It was acted superbly and without restraint which I had not seen in other British plays. The production moved and inspired me. 18. Your favourite director/actor/music or set designer� Director- Satyadev Dubey- Actually more as a teacher. Actors- Nikhil Ratnaparkhi, Nipun Dharmadhikari, Anita Date, Veena Jamkar. 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