Lekure Udand Jhaali

Lekure Udand Jhaali is another Vasant Kanetkar play which has been revived. The original play completed over 1000 shows & the lead roles were played by Shrikant Moghe & Daya Dongre. It is a three part play with Sumit Raghavan & his wife Chinmayee Sumit as leads.

Spoilers ahead!

The story revolves around a rich, childless couple, Raja & Rani Tambe. The couples greedy relatives presume that as the Tambes do not have any children, their kids will inherit all their property. Slowly & steadily the relatives create situations to suit their purposes & manipulates Rani’s intense desire to have kids so that she ends up agreeing to adopt one of her sisters many kids. On the other hand Raja’s brother is playing a similar trick on him. This leads to a fight between the couple on whose kid should they adopt? His brothers or her sisters? However when Raja loses his wealth in some bad investments the sweet relatives are quick to show their true colors. With poverty the Tambes are rid of their false relations. However even in these adverse times the servant in their house refuses to leave them for he considers himself a part of the family. The play ends on a happy note when Rani discovers that she is pregnant. They are poor & lonely now; but this one joy infuses hope & enthusiasm in their lives. Raja resolves to start his life afresh so that he can give his baby the best things money can buy.

Liked:

• Sumit Raghavan is a great actor & singer. 
• The supporting characters are well selected & each person does his role well. I liked the servant most!
• Two serious issues, being childless & greedy, selfish relations, are presented in a lighter vein. Though comedy is used it does not look insensitive. Pain as well as ridiculous emotions are well presented & portrayed.
• A balanced play. The focus is not on any one aspect. Rather everything, comedy, emotions, music, romance are well balanced

Disliked:

• Personally I like poetry to be flowing, complete with rhyming words & all. The songs used use words like prose. My Mom told me this was a new experiment when this play was first introduced nearly 30 years back. In those times ‘Sangeet Natak’ (entire plays based on raagas & in poetry form) were popular. So this was an attempt to put music to prose. You can call it a Marathi Musical! I would have preferred plain dialogues!
• The sound quality wasnt very good. At some points I had to strain my ears to hear what was being said. Sumit is excellent with his singing. However Chinmayees voice was pre – recorded & sometimes the recording was really bad!

I will give it an 8 / 10. A nice play!

Marathi Bana

I welcomed the first day of 2012 by watching MARATHI BANA at Prabodhankar Thakre theatre. The show started sharp at 8:45 PM. This is the first time I have been out for a night show. Otherwise since my school days, the last show I was allowed to be at was the 6-9 PM slot.

Marathi Bana is an orchestra & not a play. It has a total of 125 artistes & is organized, written & directed by Ashok Hande. The artistes are a mix of singers, dancers & musicians. The underlying theme is Maharashtra & its rich cultural heritage. It starts with a Bhupali which my mom says is very famous. However, I was quite unaware of the initial 2-3 songs that were played out. Hence the start was quite boring for me. It could have been boring because they were just songs. The first out – and – out dance performance was ‘Amhi thakar thakar’, a beautiful, melodious song. The song earned a once more as well. This was followed by a Bharud. Maharashtra is famous for its many saints. The knowledge that was preached by these saints to the common man, using common terms of daily use is called a Bharud. These handy tips are called Burgunda. It’s a satire cum comedy in which the anchor & the bharud singer tell us about the various new trends which are prevalent in society. This piece was an intelligent composition which covered Rakhi Swant, Sheela ki jawani, Munni & Kolaveri as well! The intermission was preceded by ‘Lakh Lakh Chanderi’ which was a light performance. The stage & hall went pitch black & then came the dancers with lights in their hands making beautiful patterns with the lights while dancing to the song. This could have been better if there had been no light effects other than of those carried by the dancers. In between flashes of pink & purple lights at the side & back stage diminished the sheer beauty that could have been shown by the dancers with lights.

A wedding took place after the interval. The groom came with his ‘varaati’ from amongst the crowd. People from the crowd cheered the groom & his friends as they reached dancing, to the blushing bride. A few enthusiastic members from the crowd even danced with the groom’s party. The balcony roared with whistles. Next was what a typical Maharashtrian wedding is all about followed by Mangalagaur, Haldi – Kunku, Gondhal, etc. The girls dancing were extremely beautiful & talented. This was followed by some songs out of Marathi movies; the old ones; the lesser known ones at that; nothing new! Then came the Lavaani. There were 3 Lavanis. The dancers were all good. The show ended with patriotic songs & a salute to the Maratha King Shivaji.

My take: The ticket costs Rs. 300. A must watch if you have ‘jajwalya abhimaan’ of being a Marathi & have the ‘MI MARATHI’ fire ablaze in you. Watch it for the beautiful dances, fancy costumes & the excellent stage presence of all the artistes. To arrange groups of 25 – 30 dancers on a stage & to make them all dance in sync is difficult & Mr. Hande has managed it fantabulously. However, if you are a moderate or a miser, and believe that all which I have mentioned above can be watched at home on star pravah &/or zee Marathi, you will not be entirely wrong either. The song selection could have been better. If it had included songs which are well know to all generations I feel the youth which is not a regular follower of Marathi songs would have enjoyed better. Another tip for the dancers: the groups should be arranged so that the entire hall gets a somewhat uniform view of the dancers. Certain dancers on the sides had a tendency to turn their backs on the audiences. The male singers were all excellent, the female ones not so good! The dancers; both males & females were energetic & skilled & had practiced their stuff well & it showed. The anchoring done by Mr. Ashok Hande was flawless. 3 out of 5 from my side for the team effort & the dances!

Saasu Mazi Dhaasu

Marathi plays are well known. Most Sunday chai – time gupshup includes references to plays which the members of the group have seen either as children or in their college days. But shameful though it is, I must admit that I saw my first play at the age of 25. Or make it second. The first I had been to was ‘All the Best’ when I was 6. I wouldn’t say I watched it because it slept through it! So the first one I watched was after 19 years. It was ‘Saasu mazi dhaasu’. I have never been very enthusiastic about watching plays & I agreed to this one because it had Reema Lagoo & I love that woman!

The play is produced by Prashant Damle fan club. I am not a Damle fan but had enough faith in Reema & hence went ahead & booked my tickets. Paid Rs. 2 extra as I had booked on the internet! The ticket costs Rs. 200. You can book tickets for Prashant Damle shows online by going to: http://www.prashantdamle.com/.

The play basically has no story. It’s just a comedy, so if you are looking for logic, story, etc give it a miss. It’s a 2 part play. Damle is the son –in – law. His wife is Neeta Pendse. The play is written by Hemant Edalabadkar & is directed by Rajesh Deshpande. Reema is naturally the dhasu MIL. Damle & his wife had eloped 5 years ago & had gotten married. Hence Damle is terrified of now meeting his MIL. For not only does he fear his past elopement but also because he owes some lakhs of rupees to a bank & a local goon. The story takes many twists & turns when Damle calls his friends house his own in order to impress his MIL & in turn borrow some money from her. He gets another person to impersonate himself. The final twist comes when Reema reveals her own secret!

My take: Watch it if you want to laugh! Not much logic, nor much story, but it’s certainly a good laugh. The jokes are fresh, not cheap (as is normal with Marathi jokes these days) & DO make you laugh (a feat in itself). Reema's entry is greeted with an applause from the crowd. She looks beautiful in a 9 – yard saree throughout the play. I liked Damle as well. He makes baby – faces at times which I did find cute! A 3 on 5 for this one!