Ageless Anji

Late playwright Vijay Tendulkar wrote one of his least performed and least celebrated Marathi plays Chiranjeev Saubhagyakangshini in 1983 It was translated in Hindi in the same year as lsquoAnjirsquo by renowned litterateur Vasant Dev and mounted thereafter by director Dinesh Thakurs Ank theatre group The central character of Anji was essayed by Tendulkars daughter Priya whereas Thakur played the sutradhar The play got a warm reception at the box office for the next five years after which it was temporarily stopped and then revived in 1993Preeta Mathur lead actor of Anji at Prithvi Theatre in Juhu PicsSayed Sameer AbediRevival movementAnji is soon approaching the 800th show as it continues to attract Mumbaikars in its revived avatar many years after the death of its playwright the translator the director and the lead actressA scene from the play which is directed by Dinesh ThakurI recall catching Anji in its prime at Prithvi some time in 1985 on an offcollege day I have a faint recollection of a review which later termed the play ldquoboldrdquo and ldquoahead of its timerdquo because of the heroinersquos rhetoric on surviving sexual violencePreeta Thakur touching up her make upThe reviewer said Priya Tendulkars stage role of Anji complemented her popular television role of the civic rightsconscious Rajani In 1991 I saw Anjirsquos original Marathi version in Shivaji Mandir which also had Priya in the lead The Marathi version had downplayed the slapstick moments which is why the satire on a duplicitous misogynist society came across more effectively But the Hindi and the English versions shared common ground in the portrayal of an unconventional gender perspective What stood out for me was the protagonistrsquos indomitable spirit her strength to rise above an unfortunate sexual assault She underlined her right to life after rapeCredit was due to the playwright for putting the thought across in so many words at a time when the term rape survivor was not in circulation it was the time when the public debate over transfer of onus from rape victims to perpetrators had not progressed In such times the play successfully focused on the general societal contempt for overaged single women And in that specific social context I connected with the playrsquos positivitySheer yearsAfter a passage of 25 years as I revisited Anji in the same auditorium in September 2015 the play underlined a different aesthetic for me it catered to a different dynamic much different than what it evoked at one point I wondered about the factors that have contributed to its staying power I pondered on the plausible reasons as to why Ank has stuck to Anjirsquos script for decades Anjirsquos current uninterrupted journey rests on the shoulders of Preeta Mathur Thakurrsquos wife and Mukul Dev sutradhar Mathur and Dev are delighted about their bond with the Hindi theatregoers The freeflowing nautanki form of Anji allows them scope for a direct dialogue with the audience Members of the audience also love to be talked to they enjoy the jokes in the play cracked at the expense of critics and the allied breed The lsquoliversquo component of harmonium and tabla make Anji a light entertainment package At one point the play introduced a gimmicky fourth bell which accommodated latecomers into the auditorium That became another added layer of fun and interaction with the audience Some of Anjirsquos characters are obviously comic particularly the lecherous colleague at Anjirsquos workplace her attentionseeking sister the Englishspeaking lsquodream suitorrsquo she meets during a train journey As Anji is not a realistic play action on the stage is suggested by way of mime and minimal props Caricature movement consequently ensures laughterOne can clearly attribute Anjirsquos success to the comic relief it provides As Preeta Mathur who has played Anji in 500 shows puts it ldquowhen Tendulkar spoke to Dinesh Thakur about its Hindi rendering he had asked us to lsquohave funrsquo We are living up to that mandate till date Anji is tremendously optimistic about life she is hopeful of a better tomorrow and our play does justice to that attituderdquo Mathur is convinced of Ankrsquos reasons for continuing with AnjiBeyond slapstickWhile it is welcome that Anji enjoys patronage one definitely cannot relate to the social situation in which Anji operates Anji does not belong to the contemporary universe In this day and age in a city like Mumbai single unmarried women form a formidable vital workforce Many women have chosen single life as a healthy lifestyle option Cities like Mumbai in fact celebrate individual choices Mumbai has evolved over the years and factored in solo travel solo accommodation and solo amusement options for single women While social pressures remain single women have managed to lead vibrant self respecting livesBut Tendulkarrsquos Anji is trapped in the eighties Her dilemmas do not connect with the current complex realities For instance Anji takes pride in the fact that she does not dine out with men She defines her moral code and celebrates her restrictive social tenet For a Mumbaikar male or female single or married Anji comes from another planet where eating out and socializing are illegitimate choices and a social do can generate tremendous guiltThe Ank theatre group has tried to contemporize Anjirsquos portrayal by implanting a few new dialogues They have promised her a twitter handle along with an emedia edge But Anjirsquos minor makeover does not make a lasting impact It may guarantee occasional giggles but the cosmetic changes do not update a character Anjirsquos frame of reference is rooted in the bygone times As a 29yearold middleclass Brahmin unmarried salaried job holder Anji lacks the vibe of the timesActor Sanjay Mone who costarred with Priya as the sutradhar in the Marathi production in 1991 has a theory for Anjirsquos success He says the play an average creation of Tendulkar was merely fortunate to get a Hindi translator and director which helped it to survive the passage of years The success can also be attributed only to the Hindi theatre goersrsquo affinity towards slapstick buffooneryldquoThe play did not do well in Marathi because it was pretty ordinary The widely exposed Marathi theatregoer could not have been entertained for long by a light comedy on a serious subjectrdquoWhile we wish a robust long life to Anji the play certainly makes us wonder about the gambles in the world of theatre entertainment Sumedha RaikarMhatre is a Mumbaibased culture chronicler