Months before the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), the Forum for Film Studies and Allied Arts took part in renewing the Marathi and Bengali theatre streams with a Marathi theatre film session from 27 to 28 August, at Nandan in Kolkata.

The two-day historic drama occasion screened two theatre films on consecutive days, named, Charshe Koti Visarbhole (Four Billion Forgetfuls), written by Makarand Sathe and directed by Mohit Takalkar, and Tendulkar Aani Hinsa (Tendulkar and Violence), a Marathi documentary about the renowned Indian playwright Vijay Tendulkar, directed by Makarand Sathe and Atul Pethe. The event was presented by the playwright, filmmaker Makarand Sathe, who concluded the event with a question-and-answer session after the screenings.

The Statesman reached out to Makarand Sathe [in pic], who also presented his insights about the cultural pluralism between the two states. “The cultural bond between the Maharashtra and the Bengal theatres, until 1985, was marked by vibrant interactions between playwrights of the two states as ideas and imaginations were exchanged, for instance, the Marathi plays of Mahesh Elkunchwar were translated and played in the Bengal theatres. The cultural exchange of experimental theatre is on the brink of decline, not only between the states of Bengal and Maharashtra but also between Karnataka and Maharashtra. Hence, in Bengal, to re-establish the connection, the renowned critic, Samik Bandhopadhay, is even taking measures to put up one-night theatre performances of the play and documentary that are shown here today,” he said.

This collaboration of the Bengali theatre with Marathi and Mumbai’s Hindi theatre took place after a hiatus of almost two decades. It was in the eighties and nineties of the last century, that the unforgettable performance of Tripti Mitra as Benare Bai in the play, Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe (Silence! The Court is in Session), written by Vijay Tendulkar and directed by Shambhu Mitra, became the excuse for the vibrant exchange and mutual recognition of playwrights, directors, actors and actresses of the two states.

The Marathi theatre, thereafter, has continued to delight Bengal audiences through the adaptation of Marathi plays in Bengali by directors like Ashok Mukhopadhyay, Jayaraj Bhattacharya, and many others.

“Theatre is under an existential threat as virtual images have dominated over real-life experiences. However, despite this existential peril, if theatre remains true to life performances and doesn’t try to mimic what we get through images, it is bound to happen that people will again turn back to real life experiences, that is the theatre”, adds Sathe.