So despite being a Punekar and Marathi, I am not a connoisseur of Marathi Plays/Movies/Literature, nor do I attend plays regularly or follow Marathi Theatre. Nothing to be proud of, of course, but excuses can be found a dime a dozen. My experiments with theatre (should really change settings to British English, all those squiggly lines under theatre) are restricted to the two times I did Purushottam. So why did I go for Ek Shoonya Teen? For Swanandi Tikekar of course! She was my senior in college and is a terrific actor. Yes, There is a trend for my seniors in law college to get into cinema and theatre. But then what is a court but a stage and lawyers-actors with script written by Dr. Ambedkar?
I reached Balgandharva quite early. before 4 o clock for a 5 o clock show. Tickets were available. Though I got a good front row, I got a navadti seat. The corner seat. Interesting story about that too: The seat number (32) was written in English and the row (7) in Marathi (it looks like six). Ata he mala kasa samajnar ahe. (Now I get to say: "Purvicha Pune ata rahila nahiye" :D Henceforth referred to as PPARN.) So I sat in a wrong row until told to get up by an ajji. Luckily I got a seat beside, as it turned out, my atya's husband's brother. I also saw people from my colony. Small world it seems, among theatre lovers. Since I had reached so early, I wandered around. Saw a very beautiful exhibition in the art gallery above. Drawings of famous people made in dots. Very interesting. I had some bad coffee at Gandharv - the hotel opposite.
The play was very thrilling and fun. It is basically a serial killer mystery. Paying heed to the natak mandali's request I will try to be as vague about it as possible. The script was tight and loosely (XD) based on The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Even in the interval, people were eager to go back to the seats and know more as the adaptation was quite organic. Special appreciation to the person who played the role of Secretary. It was done very well. He also wrote the script it seems. Swanandi tai was great. A powerful portrayal of character. She received special applause for her depiction of mental prowess. Her transitions when showing her vulnerabilities as a troubled teenager were natural. Good writing and top-notch acting made my first full-fledged commercial theatre experience a pleasurable one.
So legends say that the Pune audience is the hardest to please and that they
control the play (Natak pading Purshottamchyaveli does not count). So of course
one does not expect for someone to fucking SPEAK ON THE PHONE loudly during a
play. PPARN.Specially when Balgandharva provides special windowed areas near
the door. Anyway again one of my firsts: an actor stopped the play. I enjoyed
watching Sumeet Raghavan get furious. And rightly so. People should understand
that flow and concentration is critical in a play. It is NOT a movie. For those
who don't know, he played Sahil Sarabhai in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai.
Grouses? Very few, Little to do with the play as such too.
The show started about 10-15 minutes late (not expected). With zero expertise
in any of the following I say: I thought music smoothed out a bit late and that
sometimes light cheheryavar yet nhavta actorschya. And since I had a navadti
seat, the extensive set blocked some of my view.
I did see a variety of age-groups in the audience. Which is excellent, as people say ki Marathi commercial theatre may die due to lack of audience. But I really think some amount of discount should be provided to students. Personally, I myself cannot adequately explain why I would pay 300 for a 2 or 2 1/2 English superhero movie only after thinking twice but spend the same for a don-anki natak (my first btw. It lasted for about 2 hours 45 minutes including a 10 minute interval) only after thinking four times. Financial incentive in a student-heavy city like Pune will definitely work.
Would I watch it again? Yes I would. Especially as they say, every prayog is different. And it feels great to hear so many people around you speaking in Marathi. Karan PPARN. Would I watch La La Land again? Nope.
Does anyone know why an entire middle row is left empty in an auditorium?
4 Beards/5
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