Plays by IPTA

IPTA was a cultural organization that I hadn’t heard of till I got into the theater scene, and even then (& now) know pretty little about.

The Indian People’s Theater association, from what I could gather was part of a movement that seemed to be grassroots driven to encourage talent, and spread awareness (or some such lofty ideal).  However like all good honest intentions it seemed to wander off eventually into territory far away from what it was meant to be.

Again, this is my perception but I know little about ‘em so let me stick to what I experienced.  Yes, I saw two plays by IPTA that I can recall (and perhaps other forgettable ones) - and both were outstanding.  And then perhaps easier to say why I cant reconcile this with what I ‘think’ IPTA was all about

This was a long time ago - during my first stint in Mumbai, and I cant recall which one I saw first.  

One play was Shatranj Ke Mohre.  (pieces of Chess) - the title itself suggested this was going to be a political/ serious/ heavy duty subject - fully avoidable.  However the play was far removed, and one of the most enjoyable plays I saw.

Almost all my MBA batch mates - more than 2/3rds were in Bombay doing their trainee stint. A few decided to catch up and while it was difficult to agree on a venue/ date - and this was those days when mobile and internet were just being launched. A small group wasnt really into the pub scene and wanted to spend a good evening either watching a movie, a cultural event or just hanging about. One suggested Juhu as a common place and suggested watching a play at Prithvi. We all agreed.  The sales pitch was that the play was dirt cheap.

this was one of my favorite evenings.  This was in the middle of the workday week - and the plays on weekdays cost I think real dirt cheap, and about a quarter or a fifth of what was charged on weekends.

Prithvi those days had a vibe about it a little removed from what its now. There were the same jobless, struggling actors/ theatre/ intellectual crowd. But it wasnt as glamour driven or a place to be ‘seen’ at.  there used to be a good crowd from advertising/ media/ corporates also who loved hanging there, and if you were middle-aged you didnt feel left out.

Prithvi is also without seating arrangement those days (and even now, I think) - we just run in and grab wherever you can park your butt on that sofa benches lining up different levels in that tiny amphitheater.  Its one of the most intimate spaces of theater you can find anywhere in the world. the actor is literally within arm’s reach.

Anyways we reach the play and I have apprehensions about the seriousness of the subject.  The best part is the crowd is a little lower, and since we reached on time, we get good seats.  It is filled to capacity within half an hour.

As I start watching this play I cannot help going on a nostalgic trip, as it suddenly strikes me that this was the very same play that my father was a part of when it was adapted in Konkani and performed in Hyderabad by the Konkani association.

The play (and what I can remember) was essentially about a wealthy household hosting a ‘Sadhu/ Guru’ - a learned saint and his comely assistant in their household for a few days, and then the young man of the household and the saint’s assistant fall in love, and what transpires.

I think the difference between a professional and an amateur is clearly explained best by the contrast between the two.  The first time I saw this as a kid, was the Konkani one performed by a band of amateurs (the director coming from Mumbai and playing the lead role). My father played a double role in this - both of the saint/ as well as of the partriarch of the wealthy household, and cant remember how they pulled it off.  

But the interesting bit was that I remembered this as a serious play/ almost a tragedy. In fact one of the audience members (most were from our social circle anyways) said he loved my father’s performance so much that he was in tears in the last few scenes when the saint lets go of his assistant setting her free to marry the boy she’s fallen in love with.

When I saw this in mumbai instead it was a laugh-a-minute riot, and for once almost all the performers were near-celebrities that we had seen in TV serials.  Yes all the IPTA artistes were extremely talented and in big demand for upcoming creative industries like the satellite TV channels that needed a lot more ‘software’ for garnering viewership. (‘content’ as a word was yet to be invented).

Sudhir Pande who plays a senior patriarchal role in most TV series played the head of the household here too. Rakesh Bedi played the young man’s role (and I think he was pushing close to 45 then) along with other players like Rakesh Kapoor and Sulbha Arya.  Almost all of them playing characters at least one generation younger.  Yes, it was almost like watching  a south Indian film where super stars wore wigs and younger dresses to court younger starlets who were their grand-daughers’ age.

But the play was real fast, furious and hilarious. Did I mention they were extremely talented?  

The best part after this was discussing it at Prithvi - at the restaurant where we were lucky enough to get a table.  Again another selling point was that this was affordable food (those days) and lacked the pretentious air about it, just like my friends were - we weren’t into the Irish Coffee or pastries.  The food was as close to Ghar Ka Khaana - home made food and it was delicious. Each one of us had a favorite moment that we recalled of the play and were laughing equally recalling them as we had laughed when we saw it live.

The second play which hit me in the gut and made a better impression of IPTA was a short play with only three main players and one minor actor - all males. This was a one act play (if I remember) and one of the best plays I have seen.

The play hit home right at the beginning. Sudhir Pandey in this is an agitated, frustrated young man (despite his middle aged appearance) who is unemployed or having some such trouble, and then approaches Rakesh Srivastava (best known for playing Waghle in the TV Series Waghle ki Duniya) - who is a minister in this play.

Within the first five minutes (which are spent in quickly ‘setting up’ the scene that continues through the play) - Pandey has asked the minister to resign, and the rest of the play is all about the discussion and debate on this provocation and why / not the minister should leave.

All through we saw a different facet of these actors that none of their TV/ Cinema appearances had allowed.  This was one of their most serious/ passionate portrayals and they were at their finest.   in fact they were so good that on several occasions there was spontaneous applause that went for sometime, and the actors had to pause to allow it to subside before returning to the scene. Yes it was brilliant.

As the play ended, and we came back to reality was when i think it was easy to see why it was difficult to reconcile what IPTA stood for and what it turned out to be instead.

There was no curtain call at the end of the play.  None of the players came back in the front of the stage to bow and thank the audience.  It seemed arrogance at its finest. Yes, they were great actors but seemed beyond appreciation and didnt need any audience’s acknowledgement.  I think even in the first play there was no curtain call.

But it seemed off.  

IPTA from what I could gather was a serious group that believed in nurturing talent to move away from the mainstream and discuss both social, pressing issues as well as further enable a dialogue representing the suppressed segments (mainly labour class, and socially repressed ones). 

At least that was my understanding of what they were about. I saw them more as those likely to do street plays with dramatic representations of the crimes being committed by the authorities/ elites/ against society.

These two plays weren’t the best examples of this nobel intent. I saw them as overtly serious, self-obsessed a little pompous and full of self-importance and wanting to be as anti-establishment as they could. All of which gave them a superiority the very thing = the very airs they accused the elitists of assuming.

However when I saw the plays it was a revelation and what a good one at that.  I was completely taken by surprise at the familiar faces (who were as commercial as it can get, and were hungrily taking as many roles as they could get - big or small in both movies and TV).  Plus the absolute level of talent, discipline and a performance you were rarely ever going to see - yes, it was at a different level altogether.

I dont see IPTA lasting long, or morphing into something completely different, with changing times.  But I am glad and grateful I saw it at its creative peak, and wish I had seen more of its plays when I could.