Behind the political curtain

Behind the political curtain

Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar both great men, and leaders, who created history. And yet, such contrasting studies. Despite fighting for the rights of the same section in society, they never saw eye to eye with each other. So, it is only natural that any play centered around these two powerful personalities should become the focal point of attention.

The crowds thronging to watch Gandhi-Ambedkar, which opened a week ago in Mumbai, could be seen by many as a fallout of Arun Shourie’s Worshipping False Gods and Jabbar Patel’s Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Director Prafulchandra Dighe, however, feels that the attention drawn by the play has more to do with the inherent nature of Marathi theatre-going audiences. ‘‘Maharashtrians are not looking for mere entertainment. Unless you provide them with some food for thought and provoke a debate on issues, it’s unlikely that they will come to see a play,’’ he insists.

But then, why had the play failed to attract audiences when it first opened two years ago, directed by Ketan Datar? Dighe shrugs, saying: ‘‘That was not directed by me,’’ but concedes that political polarisations and social flux thereof have benefited the current production. According to him, Gandhi-Ambedkar provides space for an interface between two ends of socio-political continuum represented by Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Ambedkar.

Representing the masses and acting as a go-between attacking, questioning and debating with both these leaders and their ideologies is the third character of the play, a clown played by M Deshpande.

The late actress Bhakti Barve-Inamdar had played this character in the earlier production. But even Barve in the clown’s role hadn’t been able to attract audiences then, because ‘‘in his effort to give the play his own signature-stamp, Datar had compromised with what is the central theme of my play. I think this was the reason that it hadn’t work in its earlier avatar,’’ says Premchand Gajvi, the playwright.

For a theatre production on this much-debated issue, Gandhi-Ambedkar is still quite bold and gets away with a lot. ‘‘I am glad that trouble mongers have stayed away, but this could also be due to the fact that I have never been disrespectful to either of the leaders,’’ says Dighe, his fingers crossed.

Point to an engineered equilibrium between the two leaders and Dighe smiles. ‘‘That was how it was written by Gajvi,’’ he informs. ‘‘As a director, I have tried to present it without allowing any of my own or the actors’ political feelings overshadow the script,’’ says the director, all praise for Abhijit Chavan (playing Dr Ambedkar) and Rajesh Kamble (who plays the Mahatma). ‘‘Even as new artistes, they have excelled. While Chavan’s deft use of his commanding voice gave credibility to the character he played, Kamble’s portrayal of the ageing Mahatma -- who, in the play, sees power-hungry politicos make mince-meat of his ideals -- is life-like.’’

Hoping that the revival of the play contributes to the revival of a constructive debate on the leaders’ ideologies, Dighe says: ‘‘Their elevation to a demi-God status by followers has hindered this process.’’ Explaining further, and giving full credit for a wonderful script to Gajvi, Dighe concludes, ‘‘In fact, people ought to realise that talking about the leaders’ human frailties make them greater and not vice-versa. Surely their achievements in the face of adversities, despite similar weaknesses, sets them apart they were both extremely politically savvy.’’

Gandhi-Ambedkar will return to Mumbai in two weeks after a state-wide tour.