The show goes on Mumbai theatre loses its man with a mission, Dinesh Thakur

The show goes on

Mumbai theatre loses its man with a mission, Dinesh Thakur

    Preeta Mathur looked at the packed house and said, “He loved an audience. He is here, and he is thrilled to see all of you.”
Relatives, friends, colleagues and fans had gathered at Prithvi Theatre to pay homage to Dinesh Thakur, who passed away last week. He and his group Ank had started around the same time as the theatre was built, and it had been a long and unbroken association. The first ‘Housefull’ board at Prithvi had been at an Ank show of Hai Mera Dil, which went on to become the longest running Hindi play ever.
    Dineshji, as he was called by everyone, was devoted to theatre, a strict perfectionist one moment, and a caring teacher the next. He did his share of light comedies in the early days, but was greatly convinced of the power of theatre as a catalyst for social change, and his strong anti-communalism play Jis Lahore Nahin Dekhya became a favourite of his. Vijay Tendulkar credited him for keeping his plays alive in Hindi when Marathi theatre had all but sidelined him.
    Under his guidance and unstinting work, Ank grew to become the foremost Hindi theatre group in the country. Ill health did not keep him away from theatre, and he defied medical restrictions to direct two new plays last month —Ravindranjali and a new production of Tendulkar’s Jaat Hi Poochoo Sadhu Ki. Along with his wife Preeta, he was already at work on new productions for this year and the next. For Ravindranjali, he had wanted to recite Tagore’s poems in Bengali, but when it looked like he would not be able to appear on stage, his voice was recorded and played before the show.
“In the last four years,” said a very brave Preeta, “he had taught us to be independent and handle every aspect of our productions. It will be difficult, but Ank will go on....”
And in the best theatre tradition of ‘The show must go on’, four of Ank’s plays will be staged at Prithvi in October and a new production of Krishna Sobti’s fiery Mitro Marjani at the NCPA Centrestage Festival later this year. Once, when Dinesh Thakur was complimented with, “You have kept Hindi theatre alive,” he had replied. “Hindi theatre has kept me alive.” And it’s true... the history of Hindi theatre will always have Dinesh Thakur and Ank in bold letters.
Lillete Dubey and Mahesh Dattani come together again, with a new production, Where Did I Leave My Purdah. It is quite unlike the plays Lillete has done so far and the story, set in the world of theatre and cinema over 50 years, must have been tempting for her — the ups and downs in the life of an actress who lived through her art at the cost of connecting with the real world. Soni Razdan steps on the stage after a long time with Neha Dubey, Sid Makkar, Priyanka Karunakaran, and Lillete herself.

A still from Hai Mera Dil