Syndication

Synopsis

MAKRAND DESHMUKH is a successful businessman, married to MADHURI a social worker. His friend MURLI is a jack of all trades. One day AISHWARIYA, a vivacious looking secretary of Makrand visits him for some office work. Upon seeing her, Murli brainwashes Makrand into having an affair with her. Makrand cooks up a sob story about Madhuri not being his real wife and that his real wife was killed in a train accident which had also claimed the life of Madhuris real husband. A gullible Aishwariya falls for this story and plunges headlong into a relationship……One day Makrand gets a surprise visit from a man who claims to be Madhuri’s real husband, who has come to take his wife back……A laugh riot full of twists and turns packed with witty punchlines, crackling humor and fine performances.

Synopsis

AVINASH GHATPANDE, who works as a Senior Accountant, is married to ASAVARI, and has two children, elder daughter RAJAT and younger son CHINTAN. On his 50th birthday, RAJAT announces that she is getting married to one UTPAL RAMANI, son of a rich businessman. A furious Avinash, expresses his denial at this alliance. Despite visits from Utpals parents, Avinash is adamant. One day he gets a visit from his boss, AJAY GADKARI, who seeks his help to get his daughter married. He tells Avinash that he is interested in Utpal, as he is the most suitable candidate to run the company .Avinash now tries to find a way to wriggle out of the tight spot that he is in. A touching sensitive family drama, full of bittersweet moments, embellished with fine performances

Synopsis

The play is political and social satire on meddle-class society’s hypocrisy.

It is set as a play-within-a-play, where a travelling amateur theatre group, makes an unscheduled stop at a village. There to pass time the cast members stage a mock trial, of a fellow cast member, Miss Leela Benare, who is unmarried, sexually exploited and had earlier aborted a child to keep her honour.

During the course of the play, she is ‘charged’ of child abortion (Broon Hatya), and as the charges get more vicious and personal, she can’t take them anymore, as she is reminded of her predicament.

Finally she breaks down, revealing the true story behind it all, and also the hegemony and hypocrisy of male cast members comes into the light, who like their counterpart in the society are not blameless themselves, while they still find it easy to point fingers at a woman’s character.

Synopsis

SATISH KARKHANIS, a clerk, is married to SUSHMA, a dominating woman. On their wedding anniversary, she demands a necklace, which Satish promises to get. But on reaching home, he finds that the necklace has been stolen. A furious Sushma throws him out of the house. JAGYA PHUKNE, a jewel thief, as he proudly calls himself, is married to SHEVANTI an ex dancer from dance bar. Jagya earns his livelihood by stealing. Today being the eve of their wedding anniversary, Jagya presents a necklace to Shevanti, who screams at him for giving a fake and throws him out of the house. Coincidentally both men meet at the same bar and pour their hearts out and finally give each other a ‘supari’ or contract to ‘fix’ each others wives. A merry go round of misadventures and goof ups make this a laugh riot.

Synopsis

DR.PUNDALIK, a bachelor and an eye specialist, also acts as a counsellor to his students along with his assistant cum man Friday PRAKASH. He shares a love hate relationship with DR. PURVA PURANDARE, his childhood friend, who coincidently also has her clinic opposite his. One day at his farmhouse he meets MR. BOGUS who sells him a herb, claiming that anyone who uses it in the form of eye drops will fall in love with the first person he sets his eyes on. What follows is a series of romantic mishaps and goof ups packed with superlative performances laced with crackling punch lines making this a laugh a minute romantic musical entertainer.

Synopsis

Contrary to a belief that the four letter word “LOVE” lasts only for four days and the rest is just compromise, Char Diwas Premache explores the true meaning of “love” through a series of relationships starting from a misunderstood childhood romance, followed by the fact that sometimes even provocation and jealousy can help you win a suitor at the same time also revealing that generation and communication gaps are normally the reason for heartbreaks and fallouts and successfully concludes the fact that true love lasts forever.

Synopsis

AabaPatil, an illustrious villager, is trying to find a suitable husband for his daughter Maneesha. The task is somewhat difficult as both, the father and the daughter have pugnacious nature, and their aggression has more than once broken off her engagement. In the end they zero in upon Yashodhan, the son of TatyaKadam. However, within a few days of engagement, Aaba learns about Taatya'sendeavours to marry his son to the daughter of a millionaire. With the help of Subhash, his adviser, he upsets the plan by bringing out Taatya' salleged scandals before the public, exposing him to infamy and then acting as a savior to restore his reputation. As he operates covertly, Taatya is unaware of his role in the matter and gratefully renews the engagement only to break it again on learning the truth. Meanwhile, Abhay, a neighbor of Aaba's, has asked for Maneesha's hand- a proposal turned down by Aaba as Abhay hails from a different caste. After learning about Maneesha's quiet acquiescence and reflecting upon his servant's opinion that love conquers everything, he accepts Abhay as son-in-law.

Synopsis

MADHAV BHATT, is a simple bank clerk living with his wife SEEMA, who is a staunch devotee of one Anna Maharaj. Their only daughter ASHOO is married to BABANRAO THORAT, an auto rickshaw driver, who is always at loggerheads with Madhav. VATSALA, a poor woman who makes a living selling vada’s, always starts her sales from Madhavs house. Unable to resist his urge to have meat, he requests Vatsala to bring him some hot spicy chicken in the night as his wife would be coming late. A simple urge soon snowballs into a series of mishaps and misunderstandings. A Hilarious rib tickling farce, this mirth quake is full of slapstick humour and crispy punch lines.

Synopsis

ANAND JOSHI, a pilot lives in a posh flat in Mumbai, along with his auntie JANAKI BARVE, who sometimes also poses as a maid. MADHURI PHADKE AND FLORA BANDODKAR, two air hostesses working with different airlines are in love with Anand and live in his flat whenever their flights are cancelled. Thanks to their different schedules, luckily Anand has managed to keep both his girlfriends apart. One day Anands childhood friend BABU KOCHREKAR, a salesman, arrives at his flat. One thing leads to another and he falls in love with Flora. To checkout his future son in law, PRATAP PHADKE, Madhuri’s father, also arrives at the flat and his eyes fall on Janaki. A raunchy, tongue in cheek comedy packed with farcical situations and crispy one liners.

Synopsis

ANIL PRADHAN a Hindu is in love with RUKHSANA SAAHIL a Muslim. Both had met during a play of a common friend, who played cupid and thus got the both of them married, overcoming all hurdles created by family and relatives in the guise of social taboo. As days passed, things started getting too close for comfort and soon small problems started blowing up into major issues where egos and alter egos started surfacing, leading to uncompromising situations. A probing insight into the disintegration of today’s urban marriages, told in a unique format of a play within a play, it is packed with excellent performances.

Synopsis

Synopsis

The engaging social film takes a much-needed look at today’s caste politics in the hinterland of Maharashtra. It poignantly depicts the plight of the dalits in the rural parts of the state.

Vikas, son of a dalit farmer, returns to his village after studying in the city. A staunch follower of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Vikas tries to apply the late leader’s principles when he witnesses the oppressive acts of higher-caste politicians on people of his clan. His own father loses his eyesight when he refuses to sell off his land to one such leader. Matter reaches head when a dalit girl is raped by the Sarpanch of the village. The dalits must now unite and retaliate.

Synopsis

Dr. NEELKANTH and his wife ARUNDHATI are living in his native village, since the last 5 years. Their son BUNDOO, is studying in a boarding school in Pune. Having born in a rich family, money was never an issue. After successfully practising for 2 years in Mumbai, Dr.Neelkanth decided to go to the village for the upliftment of the rural people, much to the annoyance of his wife. One day he gets a visit from one SHEKHAR MIRAJKAR, a sales executive from a tractor firm. A bewildered Arundhati is shocked to see Shekhar, her ex lover. A high voltage emotional drama with a social message, embellished with fine performances.

Synopsis

One of Vijay Tendulkar’s most controversial plays, Sakharam Binder was first staged in 1974. It tells the story of the book-binder Sakharam who takes home a series of women after they have been thrown out of their homes by their respective husbands.

In return for providing shelter, Sakharam exploits the women by getting them to perform household tasks and occasionally, for sexual favours. The play opens with the seventh woman Laxmi who is docile and timid by nature. After exploiting her for a few days, Sakharam throws her out and brings the next woman Champa who is flamboyant and head-strong. Things get complicated after a few days when Laxmi returns. What follows is a succession of unexpected events which culminate into a dramatic end.

Synopsis

This comic play will make everyone laugh.

An old, meek and submissive King Kansen is very sad as he doesn’t laugh much. His face is always full of worry lines, so his Queen gets annoyed and leaves home. This makes the king even sadder. His servant, who is also the Queen’s brother, advises him to appoint a laughter minister or a clown. So the post is advertised and loud announcements are made throughout the kingdom.

In reply to the advertisement, a clown comes and he makes the king laugh. But the king wonders how to acquire an everlasting smiling face. The clown advises that laughter is everywhere around us, we just have to pick it and include it in our lives. Then he takes the king in disguise for a tour of his kingdom. They come across many funny people and incidences.

A road –magician and his assistant are showing tricks, like walking on a rope, converting money into eggs etc. Then there are two drunkards very seriously discussing things like buying-selling TajMahal or Mumbai and shifting the sea. A beggar, all covered in rags, employs an educated person just to pull his cart, attend his mobile calls etc. and then he drives away in a car with his secretary.

There is another king and his army chief who plan to hunt a tiger and finally decide to cover up a sleeping donkey with an old tiger skin. A drama director and his actor take a lot of trouble over rehearsals only to learn that it is all a waste. Then the clown shows a Swami who talks a funny version of Sanskrit and is more of a salesman than a spiritual guru. In the end, there is a doctor, who calls all body organsby car-part names and operates by sliding beneath the operation table, all because he originally was a car mechanic.

After this tour, King Kansen is very happy, keeps smiling and thus his Queen returns home, making him even more happy.

Short version:

This comic play will make everyone laugh.

An old, meek King Kansen is very sad as he doesn’t laugh much. So his annoyed Queen leaves home making the king even sadder. His servant advises him to advertise and appoint a laughter minister. In reply to the advertisement, a clown comes and makes the king laugh. But the king wants an everlasting smiling face. The clown advises that laughter is everywhere around us, we just have to pick it. He takes the king in disguise for a tour of his kingdom. They come across many funny people and incidences.

A road –magician and his assistant are showing hilarious tricks. Two drunkards are discussing comical ideas. A beggar employs an educated person and then drives away in a car. Another king and his army chief areplanning a tiger-hunt and finally decide to fake everything. A drama director and his actor work hard on rehearsals but in vain. There is a funny Swami who is more of a salesman than a spiritual guru. Lastly, there is an odd doctor, who originally was a car mechanic.

After this tour, King Kansen is very happy, keeps smiling. So his Queen returns home, making him happier.

Synopsis

BholaBhabda (A simpleton) is folk drama, replete with Marathi that is typical of villages. It is written by SopanKhude and directed by ManoharBhosle. It is a satire on the political and social conditions of our present day society, but set in the era of the kings and queens.

This is a comedy of errors, where souls of a king and a commoner interchange their bodies which results in hilarious situations.

King Chandrasen goes on a hunting spree and later rests under a tree. When he gets up, he finds himself transformed into a totally different person, a commoner named Chiman the tailor. Even after telling many secrets which only the King would know, everyone including his Minister and Queen, refuses to recognize him. On the other hand, a commoner – Chiman tailor whose appearance has changed to that of King Chandrasen, is dragged to the palace and is forced to occupy the throne. Both their wives, Queen Damayanti and Tara insist that the other person is their husband, leading to comic situations.

Meanwhile, the conniving Prime Minister of the King, decides to take advantage of the simpleton occupying the throne and earn some illicit money by corrupt practices. He takes help of two hawaldars in this, by offering them a part of the spoils. Through the discussions of the Prime Minister and the hawaldars many present day corruption issues are brought into focus. The innocent commoner tries to enjoy the luxuries forced upon him which includes a lavani dance. As the supposed tailor continues to insist that he is the king, an exorcist (tantric) is brought to chase away the spirit that is haunting him.

Finally a sage explains all about the souls switching the bodies and agrees to make everything right, provided no one disturbs him during the procedures. However the tailor’s wife Tara enters, unwittingly interrupting him, thus resulting in a whole new situation!

Shorter version:

BholaBhabda is a folk drama set in the past era, a satire that sheds light on the present day socio-political conditions. This is a comedy of errors, where souls of a king and a commoner interchange their bodies, thus creating hilarious situations.

While hunting in a forest, King Chandrasen finds himself transformed in to a commoner, Chiman tailor. Nobody is ready to believe that he is the king. On the other hand, tailor Chiman, whose appearance has now changed to that of the king, is forced to occupy the throne. Both their wives, the Queen and Tara, insist that the other person is their husband, leading to comic situations.

Meanwhile, the conniving Prime Minister of the King, decides to take advantage of the simpleton occupying the throne and earn some illicit money by corrupt practices. Many present day corruption issues are brought into focus through this.The innocent commoner tries to enjoy the luxuries forced upon him which includes a lavani dance. An exorcist (tantric) is brought to chase away the ‘spirit’ that is haunting the real king.

Finally a sage explains all about the souls switching the bodies and agrees to make everything right, provided no one disturbs him during the procedures. However the tailor’s wife Tara Finally a sage explains all about the souls switching the bodies and agrees to make everything right, provided no one disturbs him during the procedures. However the tailor’s wife Tara unwittingly interrupting, resulting in a whole new situation!, resulting in a whole new situation!

Synopsis

The special thing about this play is that, it is a one man show. It is written, directed and it’s all the characters are enacted by JyotikumarKosarikar.

It is a simple story of a wedding taking place in a village of Maharashtra. And its outstanding feature is,the way a single person has created more than fifteen characters (from eight years old children to eighty years old granny) in distinct individual manner.

Namdev is a son of a farmer Appa and his wife Shevanta. After finishing schooling in the village Namya insists on going to big city for further studies. After being exposed to novel things and fashionable people, he is a changed person. He meets Mary, daughter of a very rich American businessman and chooses her as his future life –partner.

Appa repeatedly calls his reluctant son home to get him married. When Namya comes home he refuses to marry anyone and confides his wish to marry Mary. Though his father opposes the idea, Namya’s old granny supports him and the family starts the wedding preparations.

George Hudson, Mary’s father comes to the village to meet the groom’s family. Then Namya’s entire family embarks on the journey to America to accept the girl with auspicious custom of vermillion tikka.

The entire journey by bus, train and then aero plane is described by Jyotikumar creating appropriate sound effects of all the vehicles.

Back to the village they start the wedding preparations with the lady members singing the traditional wedding songs. Grand arrangements are made to welcome the helicopter bringing the wedding party and the girl’s family. Amidst all hullaballoo of the relatives, Namya’s wedding is accomplished and he leaves with his bride in the helicopter.

JyotikumarKosarikar has successfully narrated the story andhas created each individual character of Namya, his parents, his siblings, his granny, other relatives, villagers, the old Brahmin, village drunkards etc. by distinct speech styles and sounds.

Shorter version:

This special play is a one-man show, written, directed and enacted by JyotikumarKosarikar.

This simple story of a village wedding has an outstanding feature that a single person has created more than fifteen different characters in distinct individual manner.

Farmer Appa and his wife Shevanta’s son Namdev insists on going to the big city for higher education.Namya is a changed person after being exposed to a whole new world. He falls in love with a rich American girl, Mary. Namya returns home only after receiving his father’s repeated letters, but makes it clear that he wishes to marry Mary. Though Appa opposes the idea, Namya’s old granny supports him and the family starts the wedding preparations

George Hudson, Mary’s father comes to meet the groom’s family. Then Namya’s entire family visits America to accept the girl with auspicious custom of vermillion tikka.

Back to the village the wedding preparations start, with the lady members singing the traditional wedding songs. Grand arrangements are made to welcome the helicopter bringing the wedding party. Amidst all hullaballoo, Namya gets married and he leaves with his bride in the helicopter.Jyotikumar narrates this entire story, skillfully creating all the different characters and their distinct individual speech styles.

Synopsis

Synopsis

PRIYA NAATU the only daughter of the late APPASAHEB NAATU hates men and believes that marriage is entrapment. Mr. Gokhale a lawyer reads out Appasahebs will in the presence of Mr. Deshmukh, a Jailor and a close family friend, and Priya. According to the will Priya will inherit the entire family estate, only if she gets married within a month, otherwise the entire property will be donated to charity. Mr. Deshmukh tells her that a truck driver, SUBHANRAO MOHITE, in his jail is to be hanged shortly and if she gets married to him all problems will be solved. Priya agrees. But fate had something else in store. On the eve of the hanging, the real murderer is found and Subhanrao is declared innocent. A slick, fast paced drama, with plenty of twists and surprises.

Synopsis

Written by Mrs. Vijaya Wad and directed by MangeshKadam, this play brings forth a very sensitive social issue.

This is a story of a middle aged couple Ishwar and Sharayu Sane and their two daughters – elder Sanju who is married to a politician, Ashok and is expecting her first child, and younger Pragati, a sixteen-seventeen years old girl who is mentally retarded. Also, there is Dadu, who grew up with Sharayu and after her marriage, came over to serve her family.

After realizing young Pragati’s condition, instead of weeping and blaming her fate, Sharayu stands up firmly and looks after her daughter. She collects 4-5 children with similar condition and starts a school for mentally retarded children. Getting more and more involved in the progress of the institute, Sharayu earns many accolades and prestige in the society as a good social worker.

In the bargain, her family – especially Ishwar and Sanju feel bitter and neglected. Sanjufeels that she is sidelined as Sharayu pays all her attention to Pragati. But she tries to understand her mother. Ishwar, who has taken voluntary retirement for monetary benefits, feels lonely and resentful towards his wife’s achievements. He detests that she devotes all her time for the institute, goes out for workshops, seminars etc.

When the girl reaches adolescent age, there is additional worry of protecting her from exploitation. In her quest to achieve more information and knowledge for the benefit of these children, Sharayu goes away to attend conference.

Later, the horrified parents realize that the young child is pregnant. For the mother, now her both daughters are pregnant, but while one is a happy occasion, the other is killing tension. The big question is, who the culprit is. But even bigger point is that, it could repeat again. Parents are worried about what would happen to her when both of them are no more. Sharayu takes a decision not only for her own daughter, but also for others who are like her. There is a lot of opposition and storm over it. In the end quite some shocking facts come to light.

Shorter version:

Written by Mrs. Vijaya Wad and directed by MangeshKadam, this play brings forth a very sensitive social issue.

This is a story Ishwar and Sharayu Sane and their two daughters – elder Sanju who is married to a politician, Ashok and younger Pragati, a sixteen-seventeen years old girl who is mentally retarded. Also, there is Dadu, a middle aged family servant.

Sharayu stands up firmly and looks after her daughter. She collects 4-5 similar children and starts a school for mentally retarded children. Sharayu earns a name in the society as a good social worker. In the bargain,Ishwar and Sanju feel bitter and neglected. Theydetest that she devotes all her time for the institute, goes out for workshops; seminars etc. forgetting all about Pragati.

Later, the horrified parents realize that Pragati is pregnant. The big question is, who the culprit is. But even bigger point is that, it could repeat again. Parents are worried about what would happen to her when both of them are no more. Sharayu takes a decision not only for her own daughter, but also for others who are like her. There is a lot of opposition and storm over it. In the end quite some shocking facts come to light.

Synopsis

This is a folk drama, very typical of rural Maharashtra. This includes the song and dance performances along with some messages of public interest.

It opens withNaandi or a prayer for the Lord, followed by a Shahir glorifying the greatness of our Motherland. Then there is the traditional folk dance – lavani. This entire folk drama is interspersed with entertaining lavani performances. After the lavani comes the Gan – Gaulan. Here, the gaulanee or the milk-maids, led by their maushi/aunt (played by a man in female garb) are going to the market to sell milk, curd, butter etc. Kanha or Lord Krishna, along with his cowherd friend Pendya, stops them to collect his tax. But all that he wants is devotion from his devotees. ‘Radha’ then regales him with her dance.

After the dance are the Vags or small dramatic and humorous spoofs which comment on the social and political conditions and also give messages of public interest, like – how to take precaution against AIDS etc. Few of the skits are between two unemployed village youths and their Sarpanch, also one between the Patil and the school teacher.

Then comes the main Vag – Mala TumchiPappiDya. It is about a father and his two grown-up sons. The father wants to get his sons married, at the same time is worried about who’ll pay for his daily liquor if the boys get married and go away.He calls his late wife’s brother who agrees to give his daughter in marriage. This comic exchange between the father and the tribal uncle is followed by the antics of the two boys and their uncle’s daughter who is in a hurry to marry. However even amidst the comical farce, socially relevant messages like ‘Alcoholism is bad for health and family’ and ‘Marriageable age for the girls is 18 years’ etc. are incorporated in it.

The title itself creates quite some confusion, but all ends well.

Short Version:

This is a folk drama, very typical of rural Maharashtra.

It opens with Naandi or a prayer for the Lord, followed by a Shahir glorifying the greatness of Motherland. Next, there is the traditional folk dance –lavani and then Gan – Gaulan. Here, the gaulanee or the milk-maids, led by their maushi/aunt, are going to the market. Lord Krishna and Pendya stop them to collect tax. But all that Kanhawants is devotion from his devotees. ‘Radha’ then regales him with her dance.

After the dance are the Vags or humorous spoofs which comment on the social and political conditions and also give messages of public interest, like – how to take precaution against AIDS etc. Few of the skits are about the villagers and their problems.

The main Vag is about a father and his two sons. The father wants to get his sons married, socalls his brother-in-law, who agrees to give his daughter in marriage. This comic exchange is followed by the antics of the two boys and their uncle’s daughter. Amidst the comical farce, socially relevant messages like ‘Quit alcoholism’ and ‘Ban child marriages’ etc. are incorporated in it.

The title itself creates quite some confusion, but all ends well.

Synopsis

The play FITUR TO CHANDRA written by Pramod Joshi is directed by VishwasKarmarkar. The play is staged in the age old tamasha format beginning with the gan, gavlan etc., is a satire on social issues. Social issues like “Unemployment”, “Inflation” and “Malnutrition” have been personified. “Malnutrition” has been decorated as the character needs special attention. “Population” is portrayed as a eunuch figure always referred to as “ moushi” meaning Aunt. All these characters are in fact irony or rather they have been used to emphasize the deplorable condition they are in. Like the population is generally helpless and so the eunuch figure etc. The issue of malnutrition is starkingly increasing and needs to be addressed with an urgency and so the character is glamourized so as to stand out among the other eternal issues.The two characters “Unemployment” and “Inflation” wear white salwarkameez which also shows that though the society has progressed in terms of tolerance the white color depicts acceptance and plainness. Usually the dancers supporting the main “nrataki” is dressed alike but sober hence the difference is emphasized.

The play is purposely enacted simultaneously in the very basic form of tamasha, which is outdated to a certain extent, and experimental theatre form to reiterate that though there is a need to move towards modernization, there still exist some social issues that need to be dealt with without altering the traditional values or its rustic flavors. Though it is also said that modernization is limited to the cities only it is a call to the rural areas to take center-stage position. It is a question posed to the populace and government. The people also need to change their thinking and accept the change and the government should ensure that the laws are changed keeping in mind the beneficiaries and that the implementation reaches up to the grass root level. Since there is talk of governance, politicians and politics is a must. The politicians lure the common man for their votes and when they come into power they use the very power to silence the common man. The promises the politicians make is witnessed by the moon and so when the common man realizes that he has been backstabbed he blames the moon and so the title.

Needless to say the play has lavanisbut there are parodies too describing the features of the issues. Like “Unemployment” where degrees and post-graduation have become so common that finding a job has become even more difficult. What with new IT courses cropping up each day. It is difficult to keep pace both financially and qualification wise and competition being fiercer. The parodies are based on popular hindi songs that are cleverly chosen and worded.

The play ends with the rhetoric poser “just because the moon has dark spots on it can he always be blamed”?? or are we going to stand up and accept change!!