Maverick theatrewalla Makrand Deshpande is back with his new play, Joke. He makes his spiritual beliefs public, exploring a world without God and bringing in fairies instead
Maverick theatrewalla Makrand Deshpande is back with his new play, Joke. He makes his spiritual beliefs public, exploring a world without God and bringing in fairies instead
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Makrand Deshpande is turning into quite a philosopher these days and is not shying away from portraying his
own fundas on stage. While his previous play, Miss Beautiful, dealt with old age and impending death, his latest, Joke, seeks to replace God with fairies. The playwright-director-actor takes the drastic step to eliminate religion and biases that stem from it. A little extreme, this might seem, but with a touch of Makrand-esque, the play makes you laugh at the oddest of possibilities.
Joke is about a man who decides to throw God out from his life, quite literally, and bring in a fairy instead. Once he makes the move, people around him are bemused (his wife, Radhika), inspired (the blind girl, Parikrama) or plain aghast (the cop couple, Satpute and Sangeeta) at his decision. What follows are a series of action-reactions, with enough high-energy, witty and bizarre situations that have come to be associated with Ansh Productions.
Makrand says that the play stems from his reaction to the religious divide that's widening, not just around the country but globally. The pukka Mumbaikar spent his childhood in a typically cosmopolitan Bandra neighbourhood, and although he is spiritual, he doesn't believe in wearing religion on his sleeve. "My character denies God because he does not believe in defining his identity based on religion," Makrand says.
Though the subject he is dealing with might seem serious, Makrand thinks that it's all a joke. "Whether this world is in f***king ruin or in great shape, it is only a matter of perspective. I'm not going to take this world seriously because that's the only way you can see it clearly," he declares.
In Joke, Makrand is working with a younger castu00a0-- Abir Abrar, Kshitee Jog, Aseem Hattangady and Nivedita Bhattacharya. The 43 year-old admits he is enjoying this change. "Their meter of acting excites me because of their freshness; the body language, expression and gestures are different from what I'm used to with my generation of actors," the director adds. A younger cast also means Makrand's wardrobe for the play has to be
up-to-date.
"One of my actresses walks up to me and tells me, 'Sir, the T-shirt you're going to wear for the show is outdated'. So I had to change it. I realised that I'm becoming a little outdated now," Makrand says, flashing a wicked smile.
On: December 29, 30 at 9 pm, December 31 at 5 pm and 8 pm and January 1 at 6 pm and 9 pm at
Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir, Juhu Church Road, Vile Parle (W). Call: 26149546 Tickets: Rs 80 on December 29, 30 and Rs 200 on December 31, January 1
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