The other voice of Theatre

The stage gets melodious as Pune theatre directors incorporate music in their plays

A local theatre group is staging a dress rehearsal of 'Danta Katha' at Bharat Natya Mandir. The play is about a tooth named Mr Daate, the only tooth left in a person's mouth. The tongue tells the tooth to be careful,and stay clean and healthy. All of a sudden, the entire cast - comprising the tooth, the tongue, germs and other such characters - bursts into song.

The tune is familiar from a 'naman', a religious invocation that stage performances often begin with. The group however, is not singing a prayer, rather the lyrics are all about teeth. As soon as the audience realises this, they burst into laughter, setting the note for the rest of the musical comedy. The group, Aakangsha, is one of the many theatre groups now opting to use music not just as background entertainment but as an essential element in their plays. 'Danta Katha', for example, sets songs about teeth and oral hygiene to well-known religious tunes such as shlokas and bhajans, including 'Manache Shloka' and 'Ganpati Ala Nachun Gela'. "We've used these popular tunes for two reasons. First, these tunes are so well known that the audience connects with them instantly, so grabbing their attention is easier. Once they realise that we're actually singing about teeth, the humour hits them and they usually end up laughing," says Vinod Vanve, one of the group's members. The play will be staged at Bharat Natya Mandir on September 22.

Nipun Dharmadhikari has been directing revivals of Marathi musicals for the past year. After directing two such revivals, 'Sangeet Saunshaykallol' and 'Sangeet Manapman', to a warm and positive response, his latest musical revival, 'Soubhadra' opened in the city on September 7 at Yashwantrao Chavan Sabgruha. "Marathi theatre's origins are heavily steeped in music. Music was always an essential part of earlier plays; sometimes just for entertainment and at other times, to take the story forward," he says. In his current venture, 'Soubhadra', the song 'Taskara Haati' plays a major role in the story where Lord Krishna confesses how he planned all the conspiracies that were depicted through the play. "Sometimes of course, music is redundant in the story and is just for entertainment value. However, the song, 'Taskara Haati', actually help the plot to progress while engaging the audience's attention," Dharmadhikari explains. According to him, the use of music in theatre started decreasing in the 60s because of the lack of singer-actors, who could do both competently. Now however, he says, with improved technology and fresh talent in the industry, the trend of using music in plays is returning.

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