Review: ICONIC PLAY MAHANIRVAN Gets A Revival After Four Decades

Mahanirvan, a play that was originally enacted four decades ago has often been considered as the most iconic play of all times in Indian theatre. Written by renowned theatre personality Satish Alekar, the play is considered to be a milestone by the mavericks of performing arts. So, when news of reviving this legendary work came about there was bound to be both intrigue and interest.

Last evening, the city of Mumbai saw the iconic play in its all new avatar. The original play in Marathi has seen some 400 shows and its popularity lead it to be translated in 10 languages. When National School of Drama asked for the play to be revived it was indeed a herculean task as most of the original cast was now in their 60's or 70's. So Alekar now worked with Pune Theatre Company to infuse a new energy into the play by roping in young actors.

So, the two-act play opens in a chawl in Pune, where a family is seen grieving the death of the head of the family. The wife is torn with emotions awaiting the return of the son. Meanwhile relatives and neighbors do little to soothe the family as mockery and dark humor take over. Through a series of events one is made to question the relevance of customs and practices and how they go on to make the situation even tougher for those mourning. The struggles of chawl dweller Bhaurao and his will about the process of his last rites, leaves his son in a tireless battle.

Touching about the relevance of the play in today's time, Satish Alekar shares, " Frankly that is a question I asked the artists myself because even I wasn't sure. These youngsters have a modern lifestyle in upmarket suburbs. They had not even seen the chawls of Pune where the play is located, where busybody neighbors are part of daily life. But even if the actual references and circumstances change, I knew one thing that the suppressed desire of mankind, their basic instincts remain more or less the same."

Written and Directed by Satish Alekar
Music Compositions: Late Anand Modak
Musicians: Swapnil Kulkarni, Ketan Pawar, Swanand Tarde & Manish Vipradas
Cast: Nachiket Devasthali, Sayalee Phatak, Siddharth Mahashabde, Mayureshwar Kale
Bhaktiprasad Deshmane, Bhushan Mehere, Chinmay Patwardhan, Sandesh Kulkarni, Varad Salvekar, Ninaad Gore, Saurabh Shaligram, Rohit Petkar, Ketan Visal & Sumit Madhur