Sumedha Raikar-Mhatre: The politics of revival

Hemangi Kavi and Dr Oak take on the roles of Manjula and Ashok Jahagirdar previously enacted by Bhakti Barve and Satish Dubhashi respectively in Purushottam Lakshman Deshpandersquos Tee Phulrani which ran to 802 shows after opening in 1975On the afternoon of January 29 1975 when Indian National Theatrersquos production Tee Phulrani opened to an 800plus audience at Mumbairsquos Ravindra Natya Mandir playwrightdirector Purushottam Lakshman Deshpande Pula did not smile He was expecting more mdash a lsquohousefulrsquo sign at the booking counter It was the least he expected for a play whose cultural rendering from Bernard Shawrsquos Pygmalion which influenced the Gujarati version Santu Rangili had occupied him for three years He had relocated himself from Pune to a small Worli tenement to audition each artiste not to forget the fourmonth long 7 am rehearsals considering the day jobs of artists like Bhakti Barve Satish Dubhashi and Arvind DeshpandeMadhav Abhyankar right who in 1994 resurrected the historical costume drama Ghashiram Kotwal says that many in the Punebased Theatre Academy termed him ldquofoolishly ambitiousrdquo to attempt the feat and aside from Dr Mohan Agashe no one had applauded his workAfter the fifth show right up to the 802nd in 1989 Phulrani fulfilled Pularsquos lsquohousefulrsquo wish It blossomed into a threeandahalf hour popular lyrical drama on a flower sellerrsquos transformation into a society lady Shawrsquos lampooning of British rigidity became Pularsquos take on class prejudice and social mobility in Maharashtra underlining the pomposity of cultivated speech in upper class refinementPushkar Shrotri in Hasava Phasavi who added a new flavour to actor Dilip Prabhavalkarrsquos six characters in the light Marathi comedy written by Prabhavalkar himself last performed by Prabhavalkar in July 2000When a play as culturally loaded as Pularsquos Phulrani equated with the highenergy signature role of Bhakti Barve mounted with newer artistes up to the nineties last rendered by Waman Kendre as a failed musical in 2003 inviting censure is mounted in 2016 by a firsttime producer Adonis Aviation owned by brothersister duo Leena and Rahul Juvekar whose competence lies in facilitating chartered helicopter flights Marathi theatre circles display what is called the ldquoHe Kon Aale Tikojiraordquo Whorsquos this smart a syndrome Perceived as an odd choice of Johnnycomelatelies director Rajesh Deshpande 46 lead actress Hemangi Kavi 30 are known but for sundry work in theatre TV serialsfilms supporting artistes lack aura the new Phulrani initially attracted negative attention Deshpandersquos ldquominimal trimmingrdquo of the script it is copyrightfree after Pula and Sunitabairsquos death has also raised eyebrows particularly from some of Pularsquos family members Deshpande told them about the ldquoneed for periodappropriate editingrdquo of poetic passages It is also observed that the cast particularly Dr Girish Oak the star face in the cast playing the phonetics professor responsible for Phulranirsquos makeover has a tendency to add spurofthemoment lines to cash in on Pularsquos humour Dr Oak has denied these allegations publicised in a section of the press on its 50th showldquoWe are aware of the inviolability of the script penned by a master wordsmith But every director deserves room for manoeuvre Had Pula been alive he would have granted us that room ndash his own stage version of Phulrani is different from the play he wrote In fact the published text is the working scriptrdquo says Deshpande pointing towards an anonymous lobby some of them have declined invitations to see the new avatar which believes that only certain groups deserve to stage Pula Veterans donrsquot go on record while raising objections Those who criticised an inferior Phulrani later claimed in private that they had not meant to derail the shows and that they stood for the spirit of experimentation in theatre One director stated he had made a general comment on script sanctity which was superimposed on the Phulrani episode by a mischievous mediapersonRajesh Deshpandersquos objection to Marathi theatrersquos unwritten whorsquosworthyofwhichscript parameter finds echoes in actor Madhav Abhyankarrsquos take on resuscitated productions Abhyankar 53 resurrected the historical costume drama Ghashiram Kotwal in 1994 and has so far worked with firsttime artistes and producers to keep the play alive for 22 yearsPunebased Abhyankar had nursed the ambition of doing the Nana Phadnavis role ever since he did backstage management for Theatre Academyrsquos Jabbar Pateldirected Ghashiram in 1973 ldquoApart from my personal ambition to enact the Peshwa I wanted to revisit a milestone ndash an original Indian spectacle set in the folk theatre tradition that went off the circuit after 1991 I thought it had to be infused with fresh bloodrdquo he recalls Many in the Academy termed him ldquofoolishly ambitiousrdquo to attempt the feat Except for Dr Mohan Agashe the actor immortalised as the debaucheepower monger Fadnavis who not just watched the new play but came backstage to extend his good wishes none from the Academy circuit appreciated the courage even after the play survived two decades Disheartening was the veiled threat The original is due for a comebackrdquo Abhyankar recallsAmong the theatre veterans who welcomed the new Ghashiram was theatre manager Surendra Datar an insider with over 40 years of backstage management experience and a special interest in revived productions He rates the revived Ghashiram as among the handful of productions that have matched up to the original magic ldquoTo be honest I watched the show with much trepidation because I wasnrsquot sure how many hours the team had devoted to the rehearsals in this postcellphone world mdash the original one had solidified over an uninterrupted six months in Pune helmed by a director who doubled up as practising doctor in Daund at that time But I was pleasantly surprised by the new synergy just as I was in Kimayagar mdash actor Sadashiv Amrapurkarrsquos 1993 script on Helen Kellerrsquos childhood mdash resurrected by actress Sampada Kulkarni It made me forget the originalrdquo Datar feels actors who attempt the revivals of milestones need to assess their vakoob capacity with greater care as popular faces are often misguided into wrong choicesHe gives the example of actor Dilip Kumar who graced the 1000th show of Toh Mee Navhech in 1989 a landmark play featuring a reallife trickster who lured six women into marriage and admitted that he could never have taken on the six roles that Prabhakar Panshikar did with ease Panshikar got his act right in the 2833rd show at the age of 77 He passed the baton to Dr Girish Oak in 2009 It is said in jest that Toh Mee Navhech and Phulrani now weigh down a doctorrsquos shouldersActor Sharad Ponkshe who has two revivals to his credit mdash Lahanpan Dega Deva1963 and Beimaan 1973 mdash is a bit matteroffact about revivals ldquoPersonal bias in favour or against an actor is a part of the entertainment market we have to accept that the audience will expect a mirror image of the famed artiste who did the original The burden of expectation is a givenrdquo Ponkshe will open Nathuram Godse in Mumbai on October 2 Gandhi Jayanti which he has written directed and produced he plays the protagonist Godse similar to the one in the controversial Mee Nathuram Godse Boltoy After producer Uday Dhurat did not want to continue Ponkshe took it on himself to mould a fresh script unable to let go of GodseCelebrated actor Dilip Prabhavalkar feels actors reviving comedies have to be more accountable as compared to those following the script in serious plays ldquoEach period has its own humour and new actors are called upon to tweak the banter with fresh references Sometimes it works well and there are times when the actors take too many liberties Prabhavalkar appreciates the newage avatar of his light comedy Hasva Phasvi drew curtains in 2000 after 700 shows in which Pushkar Shrotri has added his own dashes of colourAt his point the Phulrani team is set to resume shows in Mumbai 75 so far after touring Madhya Pradesh and Goa Hemangi Kavi has recently won a comedy award for her role for her rare courage in interpreting her own Phulrani Had Pula been alive he would have punned on the flower seller bringing him fragrant royaltySumedha RaikarMhatre is a culture columnist in search of the subtext You can reach her at sumedharaikargmailcom