The Theater : Iconic Marathi dramatist Vijay Tendulkar passes away
Marathi dramatist, Vijay Tendulkar, who kicked-off a virtual revolution in Indian theatre both in terms of content and style, passed away at a city hospital on Monday at 8am.
Best known for his play Ghasiram Kotwal , a brilliant satire on political violence, and which has had a phenomenal run of 6,000 shows since 1972, Tendulkar was struck by myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disease. He was 80 and hospitalized since April 10.
Writing his first story at the age of six and making his tryst with the stage — as writer, director and actor — five years later, Mr. Tendulkar swore never to write at the age of 22 when his play Grihast was heckled off the stage.
Staging a comeback, he went on to write over 30 full-length plays, several one-act plays, collection of short stories and film scripts; many of which brought him awards.
Tendulkar’s most controversial plays — ‘Ghasiram Kotwal’ and ‘Sakharam Binder’, stirred a hornet’s nest in Maharashtra after it was staged in 1972. In ‘Ghasiram Kotwal’, the controversial depiction of the historical character of Nana Phadnavis, a revered statesman during the Peshwa rule in Maharashtra, angered Brahmins and led to a series of protests. The troupe of Ghashiram Kotwal, a play with a novel mix of dance and music, directed by Jabbar Patel, faced violent protests from the audience.
Tendulkar, however, was never apologetic over the characterisation of Nana, who was portrayed as a lecherous character, notwithstanding his stature as a statesman. He had the last laugh when the play was acclaimed internationally for its innovative content and presentation.
Tendulkar went on to author 27 plays which included ‘Gidhade’ (Vultures), ‘Ashi Paakhre Yeti’, ‘Shantata Kortchalu Aahe’, ‘Sreemant’, ‘Baby’, ‘Maadi’, and ‘Grihastha’.
His versatility and creativity was reflected in screenplays, dialogues and stories which he wrote for many widely hailed movies such as ‘Manthan’ directed by Shyam Benegal. He also won laurels for the screen plays of ‘Ardhasatya’, ‘Akorsh’ and Marathi film ‘Saamna’.
Writing in practically every form, he picked up awards on the way, including the Padma Bhushan, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Filmfare Award, Saraswati Samman, Kalidas Samman, Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar. Films like ‘Aakrosh’, ‘Manthan’ and ‘Ardha Satya’ — each a powerful example of India’s “alternate cinema” — brought him instant fame but that did not draw Mr. Tendulkar to mainstream cinema despite offers from big-ticket producers like Raj Kapoor and Yash Chopra. In his own words, “writer is no more than a hack” for mainstream cinema. The playwright’s personal life was wrought with tragedy towards his twilight years — he lost his wife and two children, including television actress Priya Tendulkar in close succession.