A very productive day today. Went to the gym and trained legs today. Came home and lunch was Dal, Rice and Bitter Gourd with Scrambled eggs. In the evening I did some stretching and skipping.
Yesterday I went to watch a Marathi play. I never take anybody with me because I don’t like being bothered by people when watching a live act. The play was called Animal and the thesis was- “Man is a more dangerous animal, than an animal.” It was a play where only a single character spoke the entire time. The lead was played by Siddharth Jadhav. He is a well known actor in the Marathi Film Industry and he is also known in Bollywood and Bengali Film industries. He has been working as an actor for more than two decades now and this is his debut as a writer/director.
Going in I knew his comedy was good but when I watched the play he showed his dramatic range. I found myself in tears. Something which has never happened before. He portrays the life of a struggling actor. The life of an actor as he auditions to get a role, leaves his family and makes some serious sacrifices as he ventures into the world of cinema in the hopes of making it big. He shows what an actor really goes through financially, emotionally and physically as life beats him to pulp. The entire play is shown as a comedy with moments of dramatic intervention. The play is written smartly as it highlights the serious issues we face as a society in our country. Not only that it also highlights international relations and the currents events happening around the world. Criticising institutions while making fun of them. One thing I loved was that they updated the narrative of the current events as they occured in real time. Some changes were made mid play after the interval.
The backdrop of the play is Mumbai City and they draws it perfectly! There are several places that are popular in Mumbai like the sea shore and the local trains and the gardens. Jadhav uses these spaces strategically to interact with characters and move the story along. He beautifully uses the environment to dictate the narrative. When the play started he ran down from the entrance and interacted with the audience and introduced the character. He placed characters within the audience to make us feel like we were a part of the story. The other characters did not speak but they played an important role. They gave him reactions in response to his dialogues. The work of Pankaj Panchariya was particularly funny and loved by children. He certainly brought depth to the scenes with his interactions. The other actors too did a phenomenal job.
The use of music was done well. It wasn’t boring and it made the story convincing because the lyrics were relevant to the story and the music wasn’t boring. The use of props was also done well. They moved property on stage when transitions took place. But the transition was done within seconds. A new image was in front of you each time keeping the story fresh visually. Jadhav had to speak a lot throughout the play and they strategically wrote in scenes where the character is drinking tea, alcohol or water (of course it was all water) and this helped him keep his voice fresh and crisp throughout without straining it too much.
In short the play was fun to watch. It had a lot of funny moments with cheeky jokes, catchy references and it showed the stark reality of our world through the lens of a struggling actor. The end was a bit surprising although I can understand why they did that. This was also the 50th Prayog(show) of the play. The play was codirected and written by Mahesh Manjrekar who is yet another popular industry veteran. The audiences loved the play and gave it a three minute standing ovation at the end. I had fun watching it.
My day today went into working for the most part, my routine was the same. Day 89 was a success!
Let's hear it!