MUMBAI: Thespian
Vikram Gokhale has been earning more brickbats than bouquets for wading into the controversy sparked by actor Kangana Ranaut's recent statement that India won its real Independence not in 1947 but in 2014. Gokhale on Friday riled “pseudo-secularism” and heaped praise on PM Modi.
Gokhale seemed unfazed by the avalanche of criticism on social media as also a statement by prominent theatre persons such as
Shanta Gokhale,
Arun Naik
,
Achyut Vaze
and cultural chronicler Amarendra Nandu Dhaneshwar, among others, rebuking him for his "erratic" views.
Naik wondered if Gokhale’s statement was a grim reminder that the
Marathi
theatre was set to shift from robust nationalism of the past to radical Hindutva. "Earlier, playwrights Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, V W Shirwadkar, the Jnanpith laureate, and Vasant Kanetkar, for instance, would dip into Maratha history to sharpen public consciousness on national issues—especially, the British imperialism. Plays depicting the life and times of Chhatrapati Shivaji, his son and successor Sambhaji,
Rani Laxmibai
of Jhansi and Maharani Padmini tugged at the heartstrings of the Marathi ‘manoos’ for decades. However, Mumbai's cultural environment was inclusive," said Naik on Saturday.
Dhaneshwar recalled the 1970s when avante garde Marathi theatre, enriched by the plays of Ionesco and Sophocles,
Vijay Tendulkar, Mahesh Elkunchwar and Satish Alekar co-existed with its commercial counterpart and the former ensured a steady supply of talented actors and writers to the latter. “Today, Marathi theatre seems bereft of ideas which will shape modern sensibilities of theatre aficionados,” said Dhaneshwar.
Added noted director Pratima Kulkarni: “The bigotry which may have been lurking in the wings has now taken centre stage with a certain brazenness, thanks to efforts by a section to engineer caste and communal divide. This explains politicians’ growing interference in the entertainment sector."
Kulkarni emphasizes the need to go beyond the Gokhale row and address basic issues that beset the glamour world.
Many think political patronage is the key issue. “The politician-proscenium ties are almost incestuous. The line of distinction is blurred. Artists secretly wish to join politics, while politicians want to be actors. Both feed on each other,” said a senior actor.
Insiders claimed befriending a ‘mantri’ has several benefits for artists. For instance, prompt payment from production houses. In return, actors have to perform at a politician's birthday bash or at a poll rally, it is learnt. On the other hand, politicians, unsure of their popularity, feel compelled to tap the glamour quotient to consolidate their vote-bank, the actor said.
While small-time actors keep fawning on politicians for survival, the smart Alecs, with several big-ticket television serials and hit plays under their belt, cast the net wider -- a Padma award, a Sangeet Natak Academy fellowship, a top slot in the National School of Drama, a foreign trip, a seat in the Rajya Sabha, it is said. Dhaneshwar said the state should not get involved in finalizing the Padma list of awardees.
Veterans recalled that political patronage was marked by sobriety in the past when Marathi theatre was led by giants such as PL Deshpande, Vijaya Mehta and
Shreeram Lagoo, among others. Congress stalwarts YB Chavan, Vasantrao Naik,
Sharad Pawar and Vilasrao Deshmukh had excellent ties with writers and actors.
Said actor-director Vishwas Sohoni: “To remember the world of Mumbai theatre--whether Marathi, Gujarati or English—which oozed home-spun charm is not merely an exercise in nostalgia. It's a fact which we sorely miss today. Actors worked as clerks in banks or BMC during the day and wore the grease paint in the evening, and the transformation was incredible. An artiste would keep a politician at an arm's length and the latter too behaved with dignity. Chavan was an ardent admirer of PL Deshpande and VW Shirwadkar; but neither of them ever angled for a seat in the Rajya Sabha.”
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