BENGALURU: Makarand Deshpande’s play Sir Sir Sarla that oscillates between memory and reality, involving a professor and his students will be staged at Chowdiah Memorial Hall on October 14.
“The first half starts of with a nightmare,” says Makarand, who has written and directed the play that talks about love. The actor believes that a professor is a biggest mentor in one’s life beyond his/her/their immediate family members. The story is set around the dynamics shared by a professor and his three students — Sarla, Panidhar and Keshav. “Sarla is an agressive student.
She is intelligent and a bundle of joy who is craving for life,” says Makarand. He says that Phanidhar is a poet at heart. “He is the most intelligent of the lot,” says the actor, who adds that the character is also the professor’s favourite. Sarla and Phanidhar share a romantic equation too, but the two are opposites when it comes to personality traits. “Every time we stage the show, Phanidhar gets the loudest applause, because people relate to him. Every one has a Sarla in their life,”says Makarand.
Keshav is a realist who is married to Sarla. “The professor likes him a lot,” says the director. So, what pegged Makarand to write this play? “I have always wanted to write a story around love and I found the professor-student relationship to be a vulnerable dynamic to explore,” he says. This is because one is attracted to the other over the power of knowlegde, says the actor. “Even today, people recall their favourite teachers and the kind of impression they have left in their lives. I wanted to write about that in a simple and honest way,” he adds.
When the play was staged in 2001, Anurag Kashyap played Panidhar. Is there a scene in the play that will stay with the actor/director/writer many years later? “Yes, it is this scene where Sarala falls silent for a minute on the stage. There are no spoken words there,” he responds.
When Boman Irani saw the play, he two commended the scene, says Makarand. “He told me he couldn’t imagine holding the audience’ attention with a minute’s silence on stage. Even Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Ram Gopal Varma praised it,” he adds.
Catch the play!
Sir Sir Sarla with a starcast of Makarand Deshpande and Aahana Kumra will take stage in the city this weekend.
Where: Chowdiah Memorial Hall
When: October 14, 7pm
Tickets: Rs 150
Duration: 1 hour 35 minutes