Theatre review: Gandhi Hatya Aani Mee

Written and directed by: Mahesh Dokphode
Cast: Ambarish Deshpande, Akshay Mudavdkar, Mahesh Dokphode, Rupali Bhosale and Sauraabh Gokhaale.
Duration: 2 hours 15 mins
Language: Marathi
Rating: 3/5
Given its topic, a disclaimer saying the play doesn’t aim to hurt the religious sentiments of people of any belief or religion is presented before Gandhi Hatya Aani Mee begins.The play, based on Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination by Nathuram Godse, is based on Gopal Godse’s (Nathuram’s brother) book by the same name and opens with a discussion between Sindhu (Rupali Bhosle), Gopal’s wife, and a prison officer about the release of Gopal Godse (Ambarish Deshpande). Gopal has served 14 years of his prison sentence but is not being released. The play then unfolds through the discussion between Gopal and his wife Sindhu.
Sindhu starts reading the draft of a book which later turns into a background narration for the play. Sindhu and Gopal take the audience to the past when Nathuram Godse (Sauraabh Gokhaale) plans the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Nathuram is arrested along with other suspects- Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Gopal and Narayan Apte. During his imprisonment at Lal Qila, various aspects of these people come to the fore. The trial leads to conviction and a death penalty for Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte while Gopal gets a life term.
While this is not the first time a play on this topic has been made, this one unfolds through a different perspective. Although the story tilts in favour of Nathuram Godse, there is a presentation of two different views – that of Nathuram and the officer in charge of Gandhiji’s security (Mahesh Dokphode). A day before the death penalty execution, the scene of a discussion between Nathuram and the officer puts forth two distinct viewpoints. While Nathuram feels he is right in killing Gandhi, the officer defends Gandhi’s ideology and actions.
The play has a strong technical base – the lighting, music and transition from one scene to another is flawless. Director Mahesh Dokphode has ensured the focus doesn’t veer away from the topic at hand. As for performances, all actors deliver well – especially Sauraabh – whose sincerity and dedication shows through the long dialogues and his body language.
Gandhi Hatya Aani Mee ends with the death penalty execution, but leaves it to the audience to decide what they want to infer from it.