With a week-long festival, Makarand Deshpande’s Ansh Theatre Group turns homeward with a mosaic of performances from their repertoire
(From left to right) Makarand Deshpande, Aahana Kumra and Sanjay Dadhich in a moment from Sir Sir Sarla
It is easy to lose yourself in a conversation with theatre director Makarand Deshpande. The veteran can speak easily on issues from art, literature to social concerns. Language, right now, seems to be the topic of debate, but Deshpande enjoys watching his characters evolve on different stages. Having written in Marathi and Hindi, and acted in English as well, the writer-director is as ‘cosmopolitan’ as the city itself. “I suppose it was the way I grew up, and the world I grew up in. I started writing in Hindi back in the 1990s,” he shares. This colourful mix of languages, texture, characters and voices will make their way to the Prithvi Theatre stage with Ansh Theatre Group’s Natya Leela this week.
Niladri Kumar performs during a previous staging of the play, Patni
“It all kicks off on Tuesday (today), with Sir Premacha Kai Karaicha?” shares Deshpande, the group’s founder. The play is the Marathi adaptation of his long-running show, Sir, Sir, Sarla. “We had done it in Gujarati also with Pratik [Gandhi] and Bhamini [Oza Gandhi] in the lead.” The adaptation has taken a while, admits the playwright. “I wrote this play in Hindi back in 2001. It was much later in 2019 that I started working on the Marathi adaptation. I must say I had a lot of fun. It is always interesting to see characters that have evolved in another language, and find their feet in your language. Plus, it was familiar to the milieu that was very Maharashtrian in tone,” he adds.
Naseeruddin Shah and the late Irrfan Khan at Prithvi Theatre for the Ansh Darshak Utsav in 2017. Pic/Satej Shinde
The production is one of four pieces, including the experimental musical performance of Patni that features a jugalbandi between Deshpande and sitar maestro Niladri Kumar. Opening on Friday, the performance is a duet between ‘sangeet and bhaav’, explains Deshpande. “There are moments when he [Niladri Kumar] goes with the flow. As a composer, he is so sensitive that he can often tap into one particular emotion. As an actor, that can be an exciting challenge,” he shares.
It is not all performance though. The festival will also witness Deshpande join Naseeruddin Shah on stage for a conversation ‘Natya Charcha’ on Sunday. “I intend to open up the forum for him to speak about his discovery of the theatre on which he performs, and the theatre within him,” Deshpande reveals. The theatre maker admits, it will be an attempt to unravel the ‘truth of the performance’.
(From left) Akanksha Gade and Makarand Deshpande in Sir Premacha Kai Karaicha? Pics Courtesy/Ansh Theatre Group
The productions have travelled through the last few years, with Deshpande a constant amidst it. “Theatre resurrects you. It is how architects and heritage experts look at old, ruined buildings and find chipped glass, rusted iron beams and find a way to resurrect them. In the same way, performances restore the works, and they restore you as a theatre artiste,” he signs off.
FROM July 8 to July 13; 5 pm onwards
AT Prithvi Theatre, 20, Juhu Church Road, Juhu.
LOG ON TO prithvitheatre.org
COST Rs 300 onwards
Catch these shows at the festival
>> Manushya
ON July 9 and 10; 8 pm
ENTRY Rs 300 onwards
>> Patni [ft Makarand Deshpande and Niladri Kumar]
ON July 11; 8 pm
ENTRY Rs 500
>> Piyakkad
ON July 12; 6 pm and 9 pm
ENTRY Rs 500
>> Natya Charcha (Naseeruddin Shah and Makarand Deshpande)
ON July 13; 11.30 am
ENTRY Rs 500 onwards
>> Sir Sir Sarla
ON July 13; 5 pm and 9 pm
ENTRY Rs 500
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