For the experiment to continue...

For the experiment to continue...

The Sahitya Rangabhoomi Pratishthan has announced for the 14th year in succession its unique unconditional fellowships of Rs 1 lakh each for five young experimental theatre activists of outstanding talent. The fellowships are known by the name ‘Tendulkar-Dubey Memorial Fellowships in Performing Arts’. The fellows are chosen from all over India by a committee consisting of senior theatre personalities. 

The five fellows for the year 2019-2020 are Sayalee Phatak, Suyog Deshpande, Nachiket Devasthali, Neel Sengupta and Abhinav Grover. The fellowships will be conferred on the artists at a function by playwright and senior critic Ramu Ramnathan, on February 24, at 7 pm at Gharkul Lawns. 

The fellowships are given in the beginning of the year itself to the artist in the form of 12 postdated cheques cashable every month so that the artist is assured of monthly payment without any procedural delay. A significant feature of the fellowship is that it has no preconditions. It is given on the basis of the recipient’s contribution and level of dedication to his area of activity and the awardee has the freedom to utilise the amount as he wishes.

We spoke to the three Pune artists — Suyog Deshpande, Nachiket Devasthali and Sayalee Phatak.

OF POEMS, STORIES AND THEATRE
A full time theatre artist, Suyog Deshpande plans to do two new plays with the prize money that comes in from Tendulkar-Dubey fellowship. One of them would have something to do with poetry and another would be addressing some of the issues that teenagers go through. “I love poetry and I write some too. I am toying with the idea of how a play that revolves around poetry shapes up. I hope to focus on poems written by youngsters. It’s still in brain-storming stage. I plan to take this up around August. I have also come across a book titled 30 Teenager Stories published by Children’s Book Trust. That would be the base for another play,” says Deshpande, who is a part of Aasakta Kalamanch. 

Speaking on his love for poetry, especially in mukta chhand or free-verse format, Deshpande says, “I love deep thoughts expressed in poetry, how in a few lines you convey something profound. That’s the style of Vasant Abaji Dahake, whose poetry I have been reading for quite sometime now. I want to explore songs and poems in the format of a play. There are a few deergha kavita (long poems), which are about 50 pages long and carry forward one story germ. That’s what I hope to do with the new play. I am not sure how it will shape up, or if it will succeed or not, but I want to give it a try.” 

When asked about the play for teenagers, Deshpande, who hails from Akola, says, “This is going to be a collaborative work. So one of my colleagues might want to work on a certain story or issue, another one might choose a different story. At the moment, the book is a reference. As we work further on the play, it could evolve into something else. I am interested in learning more about what happens in the age-group of 11-16 years, how their emotions and moods swing from one extreme to another. One moment they feel elated and on top of the world while the next moment they are depressed. Plus, there is that fascination for technology, sexuality and so on. So the play could explore a myriad of issues, or focus on just one. We need to figure out the format.” 

His last play, Season X, Episode Y, for Aasakta, was also a collection of 17 short stories. Is that his favourite format and what are its advantages? 

Says the artist, “It’s not my favourite format per say. But Season X, Episode Y was my first big directorial and there was an inter-play of characters and stories. Prior to that, I had done realistic plays, by which I mean, they had a beginning, middle and an end. This was not the case with Season X...it was more abstract.” 

Deshpande, who has done his Masters in Computer Application from Amravati, did his earlier theatre work there. Talking about the kind of work done there and in Pune-Mumbai, the artist says, “In Akola, there is a limiting circle of work — be it in the subjects or themes that are chosen or the style in which they are presented. Also, the plays presented there were verbose. As a fresher in theatre, I thought this was the only way one could work in dramas. When I shifted to Amravati for studies, I met Amol Adhav, a theatre director. He had done Master of Theatre Art and also studied physical theatre. My first play in Amravati emphasised how body can be used to present a story or a subject. That was an eye-opener in many ways and I continued working in that medium for three years, before moving to Pune. 

“In Pune, there is much more variety in formats. Some plays have more thrust on the text while others on the physical aspect. I could educate myself on various practices. After I joined Aaskata, I gained another vision — how to look at plays, how to prepare as an actor, director.”
— Ambika Shaligram

‘IT’S RECOGNITION OF MY DILIGENT WORK’
Sayalee Phatak is a bubbly youngster. And her work for the past decade proves that the actress means ‘consistency’. Plays like Geli 21 Varsha, Sindhu Sudhakar Rum Aani Itar, Natak Nako, Mahanirvan, Mi... Ghalib..., A Friend’s Story, Tichi 17 Prakarane and a few more on the experimental stage, as also classics like Sangeet Sanshaykallol, Sangeet Manapman and Makadachya Haati Champagne bear testimony to the fact.

The Tendulkar-Dubey fellowship is a recognition of the ‘diligent’ work Sayalee has done over a significant period of time.

“I don’t know how correct it is to use the word ‘sincerely’ for your own work, but I always kept doing what I believed in. And I did it irrespective of where it took me, whether one work brought me more work or not and whether it got me appreciation or not,” she says.

“When you are new to this whole set up in the theatre world, you expect a lot. It’s all a little dreamy. For me too, it took a little while but then the facade vanished and what remained was, how much you can take from the process and how much you can give back. I have done that diligently and I will keep doing that,” the actress says. 

The fellowship, says she, is the recognition of that effort and the attitude towards work. “I feel overwhelmed and grateful about it,” expresses Sayalee, as she joins the club of Natak Company actors who have received the fellowship in the past.

On Sunday evening, she will be bestowed with ‘Tendulkar-Dubey fellowship, but on the eve of it, she will be in Mysore, performing Mahanirvan and she will be heading out to North East for the shows of the same play in the first week of March. When asked if the play has a role in her getting the fellowship, she agrees and gushes about what it was like working with Satish Alekar and the opportunities that the play presented to her. 

“The personal connection with a man, who has his own standing in Indian theatre, was very important,” she says and mentions that Alekar spoke to them about his own learning experience of working with Natak Company. 

Probably that, coupled with Sayalee’s BA degree in Psychology, was something that prompted the writer-director to ask her to join him at the Lalit Kala Kendra to teach ‘Performing Arts and Psychology’. “Had I not committed to acting as a career, I would have taken up teaching art and psychology, anyway,” she reveals.

But apart from that, she also conducts a class titled ‘Acting Preparation’ — where she mainly talks about her experience over the years. She wants to continue doing that in 2019 as well.

Interestingly, her latest venture is on a completely different track. She started Qaleen Weddings — a wedding planning venture — with Ravi Choudhary and Devika Kale. “I am extremely passionate about acting and theatre, it’s something that I never want to give up. But at the same time, you need to strive for a balance too. Though Qaleen Weddings is something completely different from theatre, I do things in it where I can be creative and I will find a connection to what I like. Had I not been who I am today, I wouldn’t have started this venture. So it cannot be separated from me,” she signs off.
— Amol Gokhale

‘I WANT TO CREATE SOMETHING OF MY OWN’
It requires something special to stand out and carve your own identity on stage, especially when you are sharing space with an influential and powerful actor like Om Bhutkar. And Nachiket Devasthali has that.

The versatile actor plays the role of the narrator or ‘choirmaster’ or the glue that keeps Sukhan (the popular mehfil of Urdu recitations) together, sometimes at the cost of being a punching bag for Om. 

“To receive this fellowship from Sahitya Rangabhoomi Pratishthan is very important and inspirational, considering that I work primarily in experimental theatre. The significance of the fellowship can be underlined simply by the fact it is given after two big personalities of Indian theatre — Vijay Tendulkar and Pt Satydev Dubey,” says Devasthali, who turned 33 on Monday.

He has been performing for the past 16 years and is one of the most versatile actors of his generation. He used to perform Mitra, based on a short story by Tendulkar called Mitrachi Goshta, as a solo performance in 2004. He has been part of Aasakta’s Tu, 400 Koti Visarbhole and also played the role of Hamlet in the play directed by Madhav Vaze. Samatol, Aashadhatil Ek Divas, Sindhu Sudhakar Rum Aani Itar and Mahanirvan are some of his prominent plays.

He feels that his experience on stage has certainly played a part in him getting the role of Bhaurao in the landmark play Mahanirvan, and is one of the contributing factors in his selection for the fellowship.

It might seem that Sukhan, which had a successful tour in the US, has overshadowed his other work, but those well-versed with Pune’s theatre scene know what Devasthali can bring to the table.

“Sukhan instigates you to connect with language, be it your mother tongue or any other language. I had no formal education in Urdu, but now I’ve been studying it for the past 7-8 years as my interest in the language has increased after Sukhan,” he adds.

Sukhan has made him more aware about Marathi too, he says. “I have become more aware about the language. I have learnt how to play with words, or language as our theatre is very much driven by it,” he elaborates and adds that the experiences earned through performing Sukhan on various stages across India and abroad will help him in the future.

“I doubt I will enjoy the process of commercial play as much as I enjoy experimental theatre. I am trying to write in Urdu these days so that I can create something in Marathi-Hindi-Urdu. I want to create something, kathavishkar may be, which I can call ‘my’ work,” he concludes.
— Amol Gokhale

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