Sumedha Raikar-Mhatre: Ambedkar seeks a lawyer

An actor at a rehearsal for Statue of Liberty at Shivaji Mandir Dadar PICTANVI PHONDEKARKeep children and caste outside the auditorium mula ani jaat baher thevoon yave read an advertisement for the twoact Marathi play Statue of Liberty which opened in the city last month The tagline matches the plays declared twin objectives mdash first to present Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar as a tall national leader not a Dalit who espoused Buddhism in place of Hinduism second appeal to the audience not to assess national figures and recent contemporary history through the narrow and divisive prism of caste equationsMumbaibased Advait Theatre deserves a mention for mounting it as a mainstream commercial venture although not a single member of the 25strong cast is a Mumbai name The production and backstage crew hail from Aurangabad and are either students or faculty of the Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada Universitys Department of Dramatics A past and current head of the department essay central characters in the twohour drama written by debutante playwright Arvind Jagtap again a BAMU graduate Now a television writer Jagtap is better known for his contribution to the popular show Chala Hawa Yevu Dya At one time Jagtap was a frontline Maratha student activist who opposed the renaming of their university after AmbedkarNow reformed Jagtap presents writes and directs Statue of Liberty on behalf of the misled and misinformed souls who do not grasp the importance of the Father of the Indian Constitution He feels the need to set the record straight particularly in the context of negative whispering campaigns that belittle the leaderArvind JagtapIn interest of nation buildingIts producer Rahul Bhandare is behind 15odd plays including the celebrated and daring his famed creation Shivaji Underground in Bhimnagar Mohalla that busts myths about warrior king Shivaji There couldnt have been a more appropriate time for celebrating Ambedkars wisdom than today he feels In an era when caste has become an explosive identity marker we cannot afford to misunderstand Ambedkar Our play appeals to people from all castes to embrace a world leader with an open mind It is another story that Bhandare had earlier signed up revolutionary balladeer Sambhaji Bhagat to write a play on Ambedkar Bhagat had started work on the script and was expected to pen something that came close to the questioning spirit of Shivaji Underground His experience in agitprop street theatre and his association with the Dalit Panther movement was obviously going to reflect in the portrayal of Ambedkar and his unique take against the deification of the leader However the project did not materialise and Jagtap took over the playwriting department Bhagats role was limited to lending his voice and lyricsIn jest Bhagat says his peripheral credit line is a sign of an entertainment market driven by its own caste politics In other words a Dalit name adds to a plays saleability On a serious note Bhagat distances himself from the project I am out of it but I wish them a good robust audience Mounting a play of ideas on Babasaheb in the commercial space is difficult in todays times Honestly my script would have bared unpalatable truths advocated by Ambedkar which todays political leadership would have found tough to digestBhagat feels strongly about Ambedkars thought on how caste annihilation should be presented He says its not enough to say that Ambedkar was against the caste system because everybody on record is We have to hasten to add that Ambedkars construct of a casteless society was in the context of nationbuilding not in terms of uniting Hindus If we fail to say that we serve the interests of the mischievous rightleaning forces who quote Ambedkar to suit themselvesSambhaji BhagatThe downside to good intentionsKnowingly and unknowingly Statue of Liberty presents a logic that does little service to Ambedkar The problem starts with the title First the pun is on the statuettes busts that people make of their revered leaders without living up to their true legacy Second there is also an allusion to the neighbourhood childrens game in which players freeze and take on funny poses Both references although explained literally in the end do not validate the liberty connectMore serious is the fact that the play is an assortment of smart oneliners reminiscent of the WhatsApp forwards circulated in the name of political support which elicit claps and cheers but do not capture the height of the leaderTo give an example the play takes a dig at the killers of Mahatma Gandhi and says India worships leaders who are assassinated also worships those who assassinate The statement is incorrect because Gandhis assassins were never worshipped in India even by his opponents Similarly the play appraises Ambedkar in the context of Shivaji which appears deliberately provocative Some remarks put Ambedkar on a pedestal higher than Shivaji which is not healthy especially because it legitimises the current culture of worship in the Dalit as well as Maratha blocksAt a time when Maharashtra is besieged with serial protest marches in which Marathas stand opposed to Dalits in the political spectrum Statue of Liberty could have played a restorative healing role That it chooses to incite is unfortunateSumedha RaikarMhatre is a culture columnist in search of the subtext You can reach her at sumedharaikargmailcom