New Marathi play goes back in time to the Doordarshan era.

A new marathi play, Tiklyaa that means dot caps crackers (commonly used in plastic guns during Diwali) will to take you back in time. “These crackers had the same impact as other varieties but were considered safer because of the manner in which they were made. We named the play such because we had tried a play earlier with long-format stories and are now trying to create a similar impact with shorter ones,” informs writer Ravi Mishra. The play is in the format of a sitcom where short stories of four to five minutes sharing a common thread come together to form a complete story. “It was an experiment. I love going down memory lane, so I scripted the story in a way that a girl, who is auditioning youngsters for an upcoming project, narrates it in a typical format that was used in a show called Sapathiki on Doordarshan and their Baatmyaa (news) programmes. The newsreader used to be mechanical and matter-of-fact,” shares Mishra, adding that the narrator herself becomes part of the story at times. Originally written in Hindi, the comedy was earlier titled Bheja Deep Fry, since the underlying theme is of one character dominating the other. The hour-long play has been adapted in Marathi by Sanket Vijay Tandel. It is divided into 11 stories with two characters in each. It features a minimal set and the music has been specifically created for each situation. 

“My theatre group, Astitva works with students from non-mainstream colleges, which don’t always provide them with an opportunity to enhance theatre skills. They were more comfortable in Marathi, so we adapted the play to the language,” says Mishra. When we ask if Marathi experimental theatre draws in crowds, he replies, “It is doing well. Earlier, we had performed a play called Ek Baaki Ekaki, about being single and happy. It was a huge hit. We followed it up with a sequel, Don Baaki Ekaki, which revolved around two characters, who are together but not connected. It is unusual to have a sequel to experimental plays. We received a positive feedback for both. Also, Tiklyaa premiered at this year’s edition of the Kala Ghoda Festival where it won the award for the Best Experimental Play,” he signs off before heading back to the rehearsal.