It’s not very often that you get to see katta (a Marathi slang which loosely translates into English as a place to sit and waste away time): lively debate and discussion sessions with theatre experts like Jayant Pawar, Ravindra Pathre, Shanta Gokhale and many others. Presenting Marathi theatre in a new format, the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) will be hosting a five-day theatre festival to promote experimental theatre and showcase some of the best contemporary Marathi plays. With a lot of new-age ideas and modern themes, the festival promises to bring out the best of talents. Some of the interesting themes that are going to be explored this year revolve around youth and their reaction to situations that exist in our society today.
One of the interesting aspects of this festival is about the youthful fervour to it with a lot of young directors evolving with new and fresh perspectives to the society. Moreover, the medium just doesn’t belong to Marathi theatre, but crosses the language barrier, making it appealing with its colloquial usage of Marathi. Aniruddh Khutwad, who will be showcasing two of his plays — Ek Rikaami Baju and Mahapoor — refuses to label the festival by calling it experimental or contemporary. “For me, theatre is plain theatre. Categorising it just takes the focus away. I would just leave it to the audience to decide whether they enjoyed it or not instead of contemplating on the theme,” says Khutwad. Both of his plays have been well received and have explored various facets of the youth from their rebellious to understanding nature. In Ek Rikaami Baju, Khutwad has spoken about the journey of a young woman who is afflicted with breast cancer and her emotional journey post her operation. Originally written by Louise Page and then adapted into Marathi by Pradeep Vaiddya, the story struck an instant chord with the leading lady of the play, Geetanjali Kulkarni, who then told Khutwad about it. “It was she who told me about the story and it was interesting to trace her journey post her operation when she finds one half of her body empty and the emotional catharsis she goes through,” says Khutwad.
His other play, Mahapoor, is about a young boy and his passion, love and realisation of life. The problem occurs when his thought process is in conflict with that of his parents and he is torn between the generation gap. The rebellious streak in him comes alive which drives him to go against his parents and ultimately results in a flood of thoughts, which is literally translated as mahapoor in Marathi.
Aanandbhog Mall, directed by Mohit Takalkar, is a story about a couple coming from a small town who find themselves caught in the complexities of the city and realities of a metropolis.
The other interesting aspect about this festival is its two female directors, who belong to two different generations, but present various dimensions of women. Baaya Daar Ughad, by Sushama Deshpande, is a play based on the poetry (abhang) written by women saints between 13th and 18th century. A musical play by nature, it seeks answers from the society to the problems that existed in the society then.
Ekmekat, directed by Manaswini Lata Ravindra, is about a girl who finds it very difficult to deal with the conventional ways of things in the world. Manaswini, one of the youngest female director, has been lauded for her unusual themes and thoughts she explores through her plays. “I don’t think I am very different as a female director and Marathi theatre has had women directing in the past,” says Manaswini.
Atul Kulkarni, who has been a part of experimental theatre in his early days of acting, attributes the success of the genre to the challenges they throw themselves in and the risks they take in presenting them to the audience. “We are looking forward to issues that set us thinking,” says Kulkarni.