After a long long wait we managed to attend the 655 th show of the hit Marathi musical 'Marathi Bana'. We had been warned to take seats at the back of the theater and go armed with cotton ear plugs. That sort of had me a bit wary plus the huge dent the tickets made in my wallet.
I guess Marathi theatre is coming of age as Ashok Hande- the all in all of this extravaganza- has successfully wooed middle class marathi manoos to shell out big bucks for something that they already know but have forgotten.
But what show! Superb! The 120 artists sing dance jump their way into our hearts. The costumes, props, attention to detail is excellent. While 20 vehicles cannot manage to make their way straight on Pune roads without getting into a jam, the stage has over 30 men and women dancing in perfect sync with not a step out of place. Looking from a physio point of view, these young gals and guys are extremely fit and flexible. Energy levels remain high through each performance and the artists seem to enjoy every moment of it (except probably some of the lead female singers!- cant blame them it was past 10PM when the show began!) The 'bharud' and dance depicting the 'Ambabai' is par excellence. The tribal dance and the 'lavani' got a vociferous call for an 'encore'. Lighting is used imaginatively and the musicians (about 15 of them) stayed on stage all throughout.
Does it seem like 10/10 for all departments.....?
Well the one that goes down is audio for the simple reason that it becomes deafening and can actually cause your heart to go thud thud at times... All parts of Maharashtra too did not seem to be represented.
Ashok Hande himself is the able 'sutradhar' and leads from the front.
Full marks to him for the concept and execution.
All in all, don't miss it for the world.
Smiles!
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