Suyog Drama Production company is now 30 years old. Having started with the hit Marathi play ‘Moruchi Mavshi’, this group founded by  Mr. Sudhir Bhat & Mr. Gopal Algeri, has till now produced about 85 plays, including some remarkable  plays like  ‘Vyakti Ani Valli’ , ‘Sundar mi Honar’,  ‘Lekure Udanda Zali’, ‘Gandhi Viruddha Gandhi’,  ‘Ti Fularani’ , ‘Eka Lagnachi Goshta’ , ‘Shree Tashi Sau’, ‘Nakalat Sare Ghadale’  besides many more popular plays. Now, Suyog’ have presented their latest play ‘Ke Dil Abhi Bhara Nahin’, with  veteran artistes  like Vikram Gokhale, Reema Lagoo & Jayant Savarkar.

The story of this play revolves around an elderly  couple, Arun Nagarkar ( Vikram Gokhale) and his wife Vandu( Reema Lagoo) who have completed 35 years of their married life. While Arun is still busy managing his business, his wife, plays the role of a typical housewife. Their son has just migrated to Singapore,  along with his wife and little son, on a job assignment.  But, their daughter ( Bageshree Joshirao ), who is married and living in the same city, keeps on visiting her parents regularly , to make them happy.

One day, Arun tells his daughter that he wants to surprise his wife, by announcing retirement from his business, so as to give  full time to his wife. But, as he is about to disclose his plan , his wife gives him a shock, by telling him that she has already completed a course of  Professional Priest, to keep herself  busy, by Offering  her service to others, by performing religious ceremonies. It is from this point onwards, the play turns into a humor filled emotional drama, presenting  the common  misunderstandings between husband and wife.  The entry of  another senior citizen Sudhir Medhekar, living in the neighborhood, adds spice into this well orchestrated  plot.

Both Vikram Gokhale and Reema Lagoo have displayed maturity of acting through their notable performances. Vikram Gokhale’s s  apt  body language and Reem’s subdued  style of  dialogue delivery, are  learning lessons for the budding actors. Good support also comes Jayant Savarkar, in those two important scenes in this play.  Bageshree Joshirao has limited scope in this play, but she has played her part with ease. The play is a treat for all age groups, especially for those, who enjoy decent humor.  The play is a treat for all age groups, especially for  those, who enjoy decent humor.   It also carries message for all married couples, saying that, husbands should give time to their wives, even while working.  And, not wait till retirement. Even wives should disclose their grievances to the husbands, then and there, which would help clearing all misunderstandings between them.  Impressive  Set design, with proper lighting and suitable background music, makes this play more presentable.

Rating:

Marathi plays on ex marital relationship, are not new to Marathi drama lovers. In the recent past, we saw a play ‘Aamhi Sou Kumud Prabhakar Apte’ with Pratiksha Lonkar and Aishwarya Narkar playing the first and second wife respectively, of  Late Prabhakar Apte.  It presented  each other’s point of view, for their identity as Ms. Kumud Prabhakar Apte.

Now, director Rajan  Tamhane presents the same subject,  once again, in a different way, through his latest play ‘Graceful’. Written by  Mahesh Ghatpande and produced by Anuradha Wagh,  this latest Marathi play portrays  two women, in the life of a celebrity script writer.  First one is his middle aged  married wife ( Asha Shelar) and the other is a young graceful  TV actress( Aditi Sarandhar) , with whom he is in  ‘live in relationship’.   ‘Graceful’ presents these  two women characters, throughout the play,  who try to prove their love and affection towards  the writer.  While his wife tries to argue, stating that she being  his official wife, commands  all the respect, while his actress girlfriend, also claims that she is also  the wife of the writer, and receives all the love and affection from him.

The play not only presents  the argument between  the two women; but, also has few moments, to surprise the audience.  In this play,  the character of writer exists only through his voice in the background. As the story had limited content, there  was enough scope for the director to use  audio visual display, to show  some flashback moments, as noticed now days in many popular plays. But, that was not noticed  in this play.

There was enough scope  to show the character of celebrity writer to appear in the last scene;  but once again, that did not happen. Therefore, in the entire play you only find these two women, proving their point, to defend  themselves   . Nevertheless, both Aditi Sarangdhar and Asha Shelar ( Janhavi’s mother in popular TV serial ‘Honar Suun Mi Hya Gharchi) have displayed their potential as versatile actresses, through their impulsiveness,  in different scenes, throughout the play.

Wonderful set design by Pradeep Muley , costumes designed by Geeta Godbole add  luster,  to this emotion filled play. It is a sincere effort by both the actresses, to make this women oriented play , presentable.