As Ramu Ramanathan’s MAHADEVBHAI (1892-1942) completes 150 shows at Prithvi Theatre on 21st May 2009, Actor/Director/Producer Jaimini Pathak who has been running the show, shares his thoughts about his journey with the play.
Deepa Punjani
150 shows and still going strong. Your reflections on the journey to date...
It’s been a long journey and quite exhilirating in many ways. The most important thing has been that the play and the players on the team have journeyed with the play...and its diverse audiences over a period of time...Ramu has written and directed a play that seems to be ageless. It has struck a chord with almost everyone everywhere...
You have performed at a number of different venues across the country. Any special memories?
Shows for school and college students are always special, since young people need to watch the play, in addition to the older informed audience. The response has been gratifying and rewarding, and MAHADEVBHAI has reached out to a wide array of people across the country, from IIM Calicut to Doon School, Dehradun, from Gujarat Vidyapeeth to AIIMS, from Mayo college to SOS village...from Sampoorna Kranti Vidyalaya Vedchhi to Sabarmati Ashram...students have come backstage and said they suddenly found History interesting and that they were glad to be made aware of what the play is saying in such an entertaining user-friendly manner.
What's the most endearing feedback that you have got for the play?
I once made a mistake in quoting a historical date in a show. An elderly gentleman corrected me mid-show. He then came backstage and met us and said he walked with Gandhi during the Salt March. We were all suitably impressed. Then he said "For 6 kilometres. Then I dropped out. The old man was walking too fast!" On a lighter note, another audience member came backstage and said he loved the play, but asked if Mahadevbhai was a fictitious character...
How do you personally rate the play in the work that you have done to date as an actor?
It’s not really for me to rate my own work as an actor, but I feel the play has changed me in the sense that from the intial shows, where I approached it as a neatly crafted almost self-contained perfomance. MAHADEVBHAI today is more about the audience and reaching out to them, their energy, their vibe..and taking them along, or going along with them...whichever way one chooses to look at it.
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