Theatre Academy ... Chandrakant Kale reminisces ...

When one looks at an institution like the Theatre Academy, some figures like - Dr.Jabbar Patel and Satish Alekar, loom large over most 'others.' To be sure, there have been and are many 'others.'

And these 'others' are significant. In their own right.

Chandrakant Kale is one. 'Chandya' to his friends and colleagues the man exudes simplicity. Large expressive eyes, which sharply scan and yet sensitively pick up the minutest of nuances. The large forehead lends a certain air of intelligence and to use an apt Marathi adjective 'Bhaardastpana'. Yes - he does exude the talent which seems inherent. Chandrakant Kale can act and can sing but most importantly can perform. A man who has 'experienced' the institution since its inception in 1972. Experiences which have left an indelible impact on him.

Chandrakant Kale reminisces some of his significant experiences ...
A Pune Life Style exclusive ...

S.P.College Pune in 1972. I used to be a known mimic between friends. And had a liking for theatre too!

My friend Ramesh Medhekar of the Progressive Dramatic Association (PDA) took me to meet Dr.Jabbar Patel. He was known to us college theatre enthusiasts as a known figure who had worked on Ashi Paakhre Yeti by Vijay Tendulkar for PDA.

Jabbar liked my voice, my singing and said "You are my man." We subsequently had a the first reading of Ghashiram Kotwal. And when we went to rehearsals, that was some learning over two and a half months. A theatre workshop like nothing else I have experienced. Little did we realize that this was to be a landmark play in Marathi theatre.

My first play, my first role and it went on to set records of sorts when we did 750 performances over a 20 years period - all over Maharashtra, India and in 10 nations overseas. I recall audiences in Europe who did not know a word of Marathi, but thoroughly enjoyed the play! We got ovations for as long as 10 minutes after a performance!

Ghashiram Kotwal forged the group feeling in Theatre Academy like nothing else could have. We ate, drank, breathed & talked theatre all the time! In fact, the entire cast was to change as we did 750 shows - except for Dr.Mohan Agashe and the three sutradhars you see in the picture above!

Rama & Bhaurao of Mahanirvan
Dr.Madhuri Bhave (now Gore) & Chandrakant Kale.

Begum Barve

The music of Begum Barve was a real challenge. With tremendous effort, I had to imbibe the music of the Sangeet Natak tradition and present it in Bakgandharva's style in a different context altogether. As a actor-singer, it was a challenge and I was happy when my efforts met with the appreciation of people like Go Pu Deshpande, Dnyaneshwar Nadkarni, Jaywant Dalvi, Naseeruddin Shah (who actually packed up his shooting in New Delhi to see the opening show!) and many others.

When Pu La Deshpande turned 80, Mohan Wagh of Chandralekha set up the Marathi classic comedy Varyavarchi Varaat. Directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni, did the first half and I did latter half of Ravivarchi Sakal. It was a period play with a new look. This was one professional theatre experience that I enjoyed! Little did we imagine we would do 270 shows of this play!

For this role, I adapted the character from a harmonium player to a singer and yet the script itself was such that people enjoyed the performances!

"Nearly three decades have rolled past," he sighs, the words emerge clearly from his lips, almost projected in true theatre fashion. "Yes a lot has changed, in fact many things have stopped!" he smiles. A smile which has more of a sigh.

"Yes, it is a fact that its been nearly a decade since Theatre Academy has launched its own production. We did have to depend on directors from outside ... no ... we do not have any young directors in our midst as of now."

That is sad story right?
To a comment like that he retorts "But it is also a fact, right?"

"Well, let us not use the word 'loyalty' but let us call it 'priority'. Theatre is no longer a priority today with most people. And that is a fact about Marathi theatre today. You see two decades ago the youngster who did experimental theatre was usually doing a job somewhere in some organization like a bank or whatever. Today, there is work ... acting work ... in television or even films. You just cannot depend on a person because if he gets a juicy offer, he is going to go."

"All of us seem to have drifted away from theatre" observes a candid Kale. "It all started when Jabbar moved on from theatre to cinema and say and Satish joined Lalit Kala Kendra as a Dean. Why talk about them alone, say someone like my late friend Mohan Gokhale also moved on to do television and film. Today, even Nana Patekar is more into rifle shooting than theatre! Like Nana himself commented at the felicitation of Badal Sircar in Pune, that it is probably only Naseeruddin Shah lives & breathes theatre, all of us 'others' have theatre as a hobby!"

"Experimental theatre is happening but the entire perspective of people seems to have changed with the times.
In experimental theatre today most directors like Atul Pethe & Paresh Mokashi have formed their own groups and are doing something new. So there is always hope. But there are many aspects to it!"

"Like Theatre Academy organizes a drama competition in Pune and let me tell you my observation over the last two years. We got 41 entries and it took us judges an enormous effort to find nine good ones. What does one say?"

As far as the performances are concerned, they were probably ok, but the writing levels are abysmally bad. One wonders, if any of these writers have the calibre to attempt a full length play at all!"

"Even I have kind of drifted away over the last decade or so. I launched my own creations under the banner of Shabdavedh. They are not plays but are more dedicated to the written word of poetry."

"The first Shabdvedh production was 'Amrutgaatha' - Abhangas based on folk music. Being a singer, I wanted to do something different, so using music and many theatre based concepts, we wrote a complete script, Anand Modak tuned the Abhangas beautifully and we did more than a 100 performances all over Maharashtra."

"The second Shabdvedh venture was Preetrang Poems of Love by 18 stalwart poets of Marathi literature like VinDa Karandikar, Na Dho Mahanor, C.T.Khanolkar, Manek Ghodghate 'Grace', Vasant Bapat, Va Ra Kant, Indira Sant and many others. This was a process of exploring various dimensions of Man-Woman relationship. Initially, many people found the sensual expressions rather novel and the gamut ranged from pure eros to even rape and even death!"

L to R > Chandrakant Kale, Anand Modak &
Madhuri Purandare rehearse "Saajanvela" by Grace

Folk poems were the next area - which was our next calling and 'Shevanticha Ban happened!. Most of these creations were astonishing and the nameless women who created such gems of the oral tradition - this was our tribute to them.

Pandharichi Vaat Bai Kashi Jhaali Oli
Nhaleli Rukmini Kes Valavit Geli

Rama Ga Mhanu Rama Nahi Sitechya Tolayacha
Hirakani Sitmai Rama Halkya Dilayacha

Rukmini Vihcarati Deva Janicha Kay Naata
Vitthal Sangeyeto Pakhru Vastila Aala Hota!

These are liberal expressions of elegance and have a philosophy which is truly that of empowered women. Presenting this program was an experience in itself. You cannot by any standards ignore or look down on such creations! In fact, traces of these very poems occur in the work of many a renowned poet! We have already done more than 50 shows and it is still going strong!

Currently, I am giving shape to a program based on the life of Tukaram. The concept is simple - it looks at Tukaram the person and his tests & trials - like when his family my devastated by the drought, when his life's work was thrown in the in the river Indrayani as also when Tukaram was ostracized in his town! Tukaram the man and the poet responded to these challenges of life simply and beautifully through abhangas! Our challenge is to bring forth this aspect of the life of Tukaram the person ... in his own words!