Shakespearecha (Prithvicha) Mhatara

Shakespearecha (Prithvicha) Mhatara

Alias...Theatre of conviction.



The fundamental question is, ‘If a Tragedy, when went over the roof, becomes a farce?’ It is said that best of the humor comes with a frill of tragedy attached. If you are not sure while executing, you’ll go by rules. If you are sure of your logline, you will break the rule.

 Theatre as they say, is a great leveler. It can’t be taken for granted as a performer. Every performance demands and demands a great much of creative energy out of an artist. If you are complacent it will not spare you and if you dare to experiment, it is with you. Who else, is an option to break the rule, than Mac, Makarand Deshpande?

The occasion was to setup a cultural hub in the heart of Mumbai, Vileparle, through ‘Madhyam’ his own beloved theatre group, where he marked his steps, some thirty-five years back as a committed soldier of Madhyam Mumbai. He preferred to celebrate the occasion on his birthday, with his new Marathi play, ‘Shaksperecha Mhatara.’  Wherein he portrayed himself, not as a soldier but the great worrier, King Lear.

Shakespearian  play, ‘King Lear’ have seen many takes on Marathi stage over a century. The original plot of the play is so much eventful & melodramatic that it could have easily been converted in to a farce, a genre foreign to Marathi Theatre in those days. Instead, they picked up the Melodrama out of it as it was essentially suitable to their then social mindset.  Kusumagraj wrote the milestone of a play ‘Natasamrat’ and even great playwright, Vijay Tendulkar took a shot at it with his play, ‘Vitthala.’ The tragical melodramatic elements of both plays were so heavy that it invited a satire for sure. During eighties, playwright, P. L. Mayekar did it in his Malavani version as ‘Pandgo illo re ba illo’. A play that is still remembered for its apt satirical linkage with the original and still opted for an independent plot.

So, a tragedy, when goes over the roof may become comic and may easily be converted in to a farce. Mac declares ‘Mhatara’ as a farcical version of a tragical melodrama, but in the absence of the eventful adoption of situations from King Lear, it remains more of a satire.  A la Pandgo, the play remains swinging on satirical note. That is exactly what the theatre of conviction demands, and Mac fulfills it, say brilliantly as he adopts only the premise & sparingly the plot of King Lear. For long years he has been doing Hindi theatre on the intimate stage of Prithvi. A place where he must have learned the art of theatre of conviction, from his mentor, no need to name, who?

Once upon a time there lived a Mhatara called, 'Prithvicha Mhatara', who lived and taught his disciples the theatre of conviction with a simple logic;

"Your Theatre with Your Conviction and Your way. And Remember there are ways and thus there’s theatre, the life.

Mhatara begins with a prolonged classical vocal melody of a singer, not a part of the play. Why?

Theatre of conviction.

The King Lear enters on stage fighting out a war on field. Why?

Theatre of conviction.

The artists deliver their lines in part verses, Why?

Theatre of conviction.

With the same conviction, Mac the writer, enters in to the plot of King Lear and selectively creates montages out of the original incidents. Even then the first act lasts for well above an hour, something to do with, in the later refinement, sure. What we have seen was a very first show.

Till now, I don’t think we have seen a storyline based entirely on King Lear. Both Natsamrat & Vitthala have had the germ and build upon the plot independently and as a satire of both, Pandgo did the same. So here 'Shakespearecha Mhatara' at least hires the premise and some elements of plot from King Lear, I believe. Then it connects the plot to a present similea and brings in the same characters with different identity, (Body language maintained) as Professor Patil. Again a brilliant idea. Even the scene of Professor Patil in Lear’s body begging on street has direct connection with the original Play. So a delicate balancing of plot adoption and free interpretation is a blend with which Mac approaches the second act. All the present-day characters are replicated from King Lear the play. So, “Me Raja aahe!” becomes “Me Head-master aahe!” and so on. Even the youngest daughter of the King is brought in as Manjusha, the Manaskanya. Through her, the writer has enabled the POV of the now absent third daughter. To culminate the Lear story, the play must go back in to history, again with the writers’ interpretation and complete the fate of the characters.

Turning back to the performance, the play enlightens. A fearful thought mingles with certain uneasiness that what we are laughing at, is our own destiny. Smarter deliveries like,

“Aamhi Rathsamraat banlo nahi.” (I have not become a chariot king.) or

“Samrat Lear ne Shatkanushatkanchya Mhataryanche prarabdh lihun thevle aahe.”

(King Lear has depicted the eternal fate of all the old men coming over the centuries.)

The thought itself Is threatening.

The writing is smart and so are the dialogues. Nothing surprising as it has years of passionate theatre experience behind.

Mac as an actor, as we all knew of him, performs with ease and flair. So brilliant is his Head Master Patil that we sometimes prefer to ignore his student, Rohit, who is an equally brilliant actor. All the girls of King Lear look beautiful and perform nicely. In the absence of other detailed characteristic traits, only so much can be said about. The set is good and compact. Lights as I can say sincerely, are not understood, but they helped the play.

Overall an amusing, different take on King Lear in todays context, performed with own conviction.

(Picture Courtesy: R.D. Joshi &Tanay Varde.)

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