Monday, December 14, 2009

काल पुण्यातले दोन प्रयोग आटोपले. मुंबई इतकाच पुण्यातही भरभरून प्रतिसाद मिळाला. प्रेक्षक तर मोठ्या संस्ख्येने आलेच; शिवाय प्रयोगादरम्यान योग्य ठिकाणी हशा आणि टाळ्यांच्या रूपात आपली पसंती त्यांनी पोचवली. शिरीष कणेकरांच्या प्रतिकूल लेखामुळे प्रेक्षकांच्या प्रतिसादात काही फरक पडत नाही हे पुन्हा एकदा सिद्ध झाले.
मुंबई थिएटर गाईड मध्ये सुधीर रायकर यांनी समीक्षा केली आहे, ती इथे देत आहे.
आजवर नाटकाविषयी निरनिराळ्या वृत्तपत्रात आणि मासिकात "समीक्षक" नसलेल्या लोकांनी अनेकदा लिहिले आहे! पण नाट्यविषयक मासिकांत "समीक्षा" या रूपात प्रथमच काहीतरी लिहिले गेले आहे म्हणून मला त्याचे अधिकच महत्त्व वाटते.


Vandana Khare's Marathi adaptation of Eve Ensler's celebrated Vagina Monologues consciously greets contempt and confrontation on its way to critical acclaim.

Witty and observant, Vandana Khare, who is in her mid-forties, is not your archetypal feminist. The resolve and commitment of her social activism thrives on her unwavering faith in participatory design, as it does on her extraordinary sense of humor and command over idiom. That she also happens to be an excellent actress is God sent for the larger cause of her Marathi adaptation of Eve Ensler's THE VAGINA MONOLGUES, titled Yoneechyaa Maneechya Gujgoshti.

The author's versatility marks several triumphs for the adaptation - Prime among them is the quality of its articulation. While the translation intersperses local anecdotes and motifs in line with native sensibilities, it does not lose the soul of the original.

As the monologues unearth dark secrets, suppressed feelings and mute anguish linked to the vagina, the context is 24-carat Maharashtrian - be it stories of menstrual distress, sex cravings, childbirth, incest, gender bias or lesbian relationships. Thanks to this improvisation, many myths and taboos rooted in our culture wriggle out of hibernation to highlight the larger universality of female issues across the globe.

Nevertheless, it's interesting to note the audience reaction to the latest performance at the PL Deshpande auditorium in Mumbai.

The ticket window saw a desperate crowd, locked in serpentine queues, anxious to secure a seat in the mini theater. Most of the male population, comprising over 90 per cent of the audience wore a quizzical expression. Despite the awareness through media coverage, they seemed unsure of the ensuing prospect - whether a "hit-and-hot" titillating play or a bland documentary on those "wailing women's issues".

That they were surprised would be an understatement. As the play proceeded, the initial coarse looks and sardonic laughs at the mention of local flavors of the C-word gradually made way for bafflement over female fantasies and even empathy at the stories of distress, abuse and mutilation.

The true-to-life rendering by Khare and Samataa Sushprabha kept the audience positively engaged as the latter could easily identify with the believable characters trapped in real-life situations - Khare's portrayal of an old Goan lady reminiscing the half-baked yesteryear awareness of her sexuality was the highlight of the show - a delicate weave of humor and pathos that won a genuine round of applause.

Going forward, the play could look at weeding out a few apparent glitches:
The appeal at the start of the play calling for an uninhibited yell of the word "Yoni" seemed lost on the crowd - largely due to the weak rendering of the anchor. Should the liberating shout - an integral part of Eve Ensler's VAGINA MONOLOGUES - be a mandatory sermon? An open appeal to an over-inhibited audience, that too by a weak artiste, may not always be a good idea as it could easily lose the desired poise from the viewer.
A popular Sudhir Phadke "Bhavgeet" number "Kurvalu ka sakhe ga" (Shall I caress your hair? coincides with a monologue questioning the male aversion to female pubic hair. The liberty is inventive no doubt but is it discreet - tweaking a legendary voice to suit your context can invite nuisance value - as it is, Khare and her team are grappling with it on manyfronts.

Some parts of the narrative utter the C-word like a chant. The din of repetition can easily be avoided without defeating the ultimate purpose.

Casting seems an elusive challenge. Most of the players, largely being audience-turned-artistes, understandably travel on a steep learning curve. But the sensitivity to the larger cause cannot condone poor histrionic skills... and vice versa. Barring Khare and Sushprabha, the rest of the cast clearly lacked flair.

The fade-in fade-out of the last few monologues seemed extended and abrupt -probably some directorial intervention can help restore the continuum.With all its limitations, the play makes a big dent into the hypocritical fabric of our long-cherished culture. As the artistes chug their avant-garde train blowing the whistle of "Chut-Bai-Chut" they sanctify the dark parlance of graffiti - a known male preoccupation - only to liberate the source of creation from the bondage of both divinity and abuse.

Undeterred by contempt and confrontation, architect-turned-humanist Khare treads on her path of participatory evolution. Her sensitive adaptation is truly one-of-its kind - a neat convergence of activism and theater. Precisely why YONEECHYAA MANEECHYA GUJGOSHTI should be best documented as an inspirational memoir for a global audience.

A cost accountant by qualification, Sudhir Raikar says that his chequered career of melodramatic proportions brought him closer to the world of films and theatre. He brings with him over 17 years of experience in writing that includes journalistic reports & stories, book and film reviews, analytical writing, critical appreciation, marketing communication, translations and business writing for leading media houses and corporates. His passion is fit-for-purpose writing.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

पुण्यात १४ डिसेंबर ला नाटकाच प्रयोग होणार आहे. त्यासंबंधीची ही एक बातमी!
http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/dec/091209-The-Vagina-Monologues-Yoneechyaa-Maneechya-Gujgoshti-Pune.htm

City all set for V-Talk

By: Vivek Sabnis






Social activists and theatre personalities are confident that Vagina Monologues will not create any controversy in the city

Eve Ensler's international acclaimed play The Vagina Monologues has created controversies across the country. And now Vandana Khare is ready with its Marathi adaptation Yoneechyaa Maneechya Gujgoshti (YMG) to be staged for the first time at Sudarshan Rangmanch on December 14 in Pune.

Khare is the writer, director and actor of YMG with other actors like Rochana More, Kavita Joshi, Apurva Likhite and Samata Sushaprabha. The writer-director had made a couple of public reading of YMG in the past. And till date, there have been four stage performances of the play in Mumbai.

Khare said, "I really wonder why this play was not staged in Marathi earlier. I have been invited to Pune with YMG and am planning two shows. I don't think that there will be any protest by the cultural police. People want to see such things with a healthy attitude, and there is no need for police protection at the theatre."

Khare had translated YMG six months ago and done several public reading sessions, which received wide acclaim for its cultural sensitivity.

She adds that all the actors in the present cast of YMG got involved in the performance after watching it as part of the audience.

"YMG is a pleasant effort which breaks the silence around issues that are taboo. The humour in the play is healthy. Actually, it is a brilliant blend off aesthetic values and social change," Khare remarked.

Dr Geetali, editor of Miloon Sarya Jani, said that the audience in Pune is sensible enough to understand it. "I don't think there will be any law and order problem in the play," she said.

Atul Pethe, young theatre enthusiast, said that YMG is a revolutionary play that gives women a voice to speak about their sexuality. "I am happy that the performance will be in Pune," he said.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

कणेकरांच्या लेखावरील माझ्या प्रतिक्रियेला मिळालेला प्रतिसाद

कणेकरांच्या आचरट लेखाला मी दिलेले उत्तर आवडल्याचे अनेक फोन्स आणि ई-मेल्स येताहेत. केवळ महाराष्ट्राच्याच कोनाकोपऱ्यातून नव्हे तर अगदी अमेरीका, ऑस्ट्रेलिया अशा ठिकाणच्या अनोळखी माणसांनी ई-मेल पाठवून माझे लोकप्रभातील उत्तराबद्दल अभिनंदन केले आहे. अनेकांनी कणेकरांचा आचरट लेख पाहून काळजी व्यक्त केली होती. त्यंनाही माझे उत्तर वाचून समाधान वाटल्याचे कळवले आहे.
दरम्यान, पु.ल.देशपांडे कला अकादमीच्या मिनी थिएटर मधला प्रयोग कल्पनेपलिकडे यशस्वी झाला. प्रेक्षागृहाच्या क्शःअमतेपेक्षा दुपटीने जास्त लोक नाटक पहायला आले होते. लागोपाठ दोन प्रयोग असूनही अनेकांना तिकिटाशिवाय परत जावे लागले होते. मुंबईतला पुढचा प्रयोग रवीवारी असणार आहे; त्या वेळी हीए मंडळी पुन्हा नाटकाला येतील अशी खात्री आहे. प्रयोगानंतर अनेकांनी आवर्जून आपल्या प्रतिक्रिया नोंदवल्या. सर्वांनाच प्रयोग आवडला होता आणि अशा प्रयोगांची आज गरज आहे असे त्यांचे म्हणणे होते.
फक्त एका प्रेक्षकाने असे सांगितले की- आपल्याकडे स्त्रीयांना खूप मान असतोत्यामुळे अशा प्रयोगांची काही तितकीशी गरज नाही! मी त्यांच्या मताचा आदर करूनही माझ्या बाजूने वस्तुस्थिती निरळी असल्याचे त्यांना सांगितले. ज्यांनी जाणूनबुजून भ्रमातच रहायचे ठरवले आहे त्यांना आपण काय सांगणार?
लोकप्रभातील माझी कणेकरांच्या लेखावरची प्रतिक्रिया काही माणसांना वैयक्तिक टिप्पनी करणारी वाटली यचे मात्र मला अश्चर्य वाटले! मी काही कणेकरांचे कपडे, जेवणाखाण्याच्या सवयी याबद्दल मत व्यक्त केलेले नव्हते. त्यांच्या लिखाणाच्या शैलीबद्दल काही म्हणणे हे वैयक्तिक टीका करणे आहे - असे मला वाटत नाही. त्यांच्या या शैलीमुळेच त्यांनी बेजबाबदार टीका केली होती हेच मी सांगत होते . असो- कणेकरांची शैली आवडणारे अनेक लोक असू शकतात ; कदाचित अशा माणसांना स्वत:वरच टीका झाल्यासारखे वाटले असेल.असो!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

ब्लॉगचे सभासद वाढत आहेत, ते पाहून छान वाटतंय!
मागच्या आठवड्यात लोकप्रभा नावाच्या अंकात १०नोव्हेंबर चा प्रयोग पाहून एक आचरट लेख प्रसिद्ध झाला होता. केवळ १५ मिनिटे नाटक पाहून , शिरीष कणेकर या गृहस्थांनी हे नाटक ओंगळ आणि किळसवाणं असल्याचं म्हटलं होतं! नाटकातल्या धीट शब्दांचे संदर्भ सोडून उल्लेख करीत - हे नाटक भारतीय संस्कृती मध्ये अशोभनीय असल्याचे या अतिरेकी लेखात त्यांनी म्हटले होते. या लेखा कडे मी दुर्लक्ष करावे असेच अनेक मित्रमैत्रिणींचे म्हणणे होते.
पण उघड उघड बदनामी करणाऱ्या या लेखाविषयीचे स्वत:चे म्हणणे एकदा तरी मांडावे असे मला वाटले.
म्हणून मी लोकप्रभाला मी माझी प्रतिक्रिया पाठवली. आणि त्यांनी ती छापलेली आहे. कणेकरांच्या लेखाची आणि माझ्या प्रतिक्रियेची लिंकइथे देत आहे
कणेकरांचा लेख
http://www.loksatta.com/lokprabha/20091204/metkut.htm
माझी प्रतिक्रिया -

हे माझं उत्तर