Marathi play about sex and sexuality makes a comeback after four years

What kind of a rubbish play is this’, was the first and most common reaction that the team of Tya Char Yoninchi Goshta got from peers when they started out. The play, which opened around four years ago, received lukewarm response and it’s topic, dealing with sex and sexuality, was questioned by many. So, for the team to have received a good response when they staged the play again, after a gap of four years, was quite an achievement. While the play shares similarities to Eve Ensler’s work The Vagina Monologues, it is not an adaptation of the same.

Tya Char Yoninchi Goshta talks about the sexual needs of a woman and, in a way, gives a sex education discourse. The topic played a big role in getting the play’s protagonist, Dr Sonali Ghatnekar, on board. Sonali was the first person to be approached to play the lead character and her instant agreement gave a boost to the makers. Sonali quips, “I had read about The Vagina Monologues and when I read the script of Tya Char Yoninchi Goshta, I thought why not take this topic up in Marathi theatre. Being a doctor, I have come across people who have a lot of queries related to sex life but are shy about speaking about them. As a theatre artiste and as a doctor, I felt a certain responsibility towards getting people to talk about sex.”

TCYG 2.0: MAKING THE PLAY RELEVANT IN TODAY’S SCENARIO
Though the play had a modern outlook to start with, the team introduced new characters over a period of time. During this performance, they introduced the character of a young IT professional girl who lives a carefree life. Amruta Uttarvad, who plays the character, says, “The character in the play is in a live-in relationship and her busy life has come in between her sexual desires. Though the scenario may not be the same for everyone, the character has relevance in today’s times and it was necessary to be introduced.”

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Another teenage character has been introduced to represent the young generation and their curiosity about sexuality. Nitin adds, “With changing times, it was important for us to introduce characters that the audience could relate to. Today, when everything including porn is easily available to all with one click, the curiosity around sex and sexuality is high and it needs to be addressed properly. So, we included the character of Shilpa, a teenager, in the play.” The play already had a lesbian character and the makers say that with time, they might think of introducing more characters representing the LBT community.

A LOT OF DISCUSSION WENT BEHIND WRITING THE SCRIPT

In a society that flinches with the utterance of the word yoni (vagina), naming a play such happened after a lot of discussion. The same stands true for the script as well. Nitin made sure the dialogues, or the presentation of the play wasn’t vulgar, and it took him two years to finalise the script. He says, “When I was in the initial stages of scripting the play, I used to read out the lines in front of my wife. She would correct me if it was going wrong or becoming vulgar. This was necessary because even today, people feel shy discussing sex in front of a group. We were staging a play in front a big audience and didn’t want to make them uncomfortable because then, the whole point of the play would be lost.”

‘THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE IN AUDIENCE PERSPECTIVE OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS’
However, despite being the matter of the moment, the actors in the play kept the show going. Sampada Deodhar who plays a character of a lesbian in the play shares, “When the play was being staged four years ago, one of my friends from the industry came to watch the play. After watching the play, his reaction was like what nonsense play is this or what kind of an imprudent role are you playing. He also mentioned that I did better roles before taking up this play and that I have gone senseless to pick up such a role to project it before the audience. He also said that such plays are staged to only earn money and nothing fruitful comes out of.” Crushing such prejudgments, Sampada who plays the character of a lesbian was there even five years back, however, it is more of relevance today. She shares, “Though we introduced a character from the LBT community four years ago, its relevance is more in today’s time than it was then. Post the verdict of section 377 in India, the spectators find it significant today.”

Through its several characters, director Nitin Kumar Pailwan has emphasised on lesbian relationships, extra marital affairs, and the need for sex education in schools, infidelity and unfulfilled sexual desires in women. However, it was predominantly the male audience that turned up for the shows and gave thumbs up to the play when the team started out in 2013. That, according to Anjali Joglekar, a member of the team, has changed now. She shares, “Our initial shows had more men than women in the audience, perhaps because of the name and content that makes many people shy away from buying a ticket. But at the recent show, the audience ratio of men and women had changed. I saw more women attending this time. I think it’s a result of the seed we sowed four years ago and we all are glad about this development.”



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