Actor Ponkshe goes blank performing a play, later stages it before admiring audience

The actor later came on the stage and humbly apologised to the audience for not being able to complete the act

Popular Marathi actor Sharad Ponkshe forgets his lines while performing a play at Balgandharva Rangmandir on Sunday. The 58-year-old actor could not say the dialogues during the second half of the performance and the organisers had to cancel the remaining show. The actor later came on the stage and humbly apologised to the audience for not being able to complete the act.

However, on the same day, the senior actor after taking some rest delivered a spectacular performance of the same play in Hadapsar. (HT PHOTO)

However, on the same day, the senior actor after taking some rest delivered a spectacular performance of the same play in Hadapsar.

On Sunday, a show of the play “Purush” written by Jaywant Dalvi and reportedly staged after 40 years was organised at Balgandharva Rangmandir at 12.30 pm. Actress Spruha Joshi, Avinash Narkar and a few others also participated in the play. While the first half of the play was staged as per plan, Ponkshe paused while enacting an important scene during the concluding part. The audience thought that their esteemed performer might have stopped delivering the script as someone from the audience was using a mobile phone and the actor might have got disturbed. However, after a while, the actor said to the audience that he went blank and needed a couple of minutes, before the play was stopped abruptly.

Around half an hour later, the organisers decided to cancel the show. Later, an emotional Ponkshe addressed the audience and said, “For the first time in the last 40 years of my acting career such a thing has happened. I apologise to the audience and also assure you that your money will be returned.”

To the organiser and the actor’s surprise, the audience not only appreciated the actor, but also refused to take the ticket fare back, saying that they will return for the next show.

While the second show of the play was planned in the evening at Hadapsar, the organisers were doubtful about staging it. Ponkshe delivered a spectacular performance and made everyone forget about the incident that happened in the afternoon.

Ponkshe took up stage in 1988 and has worked in multiple fields, including Marathi stage, Marathi television and film industry. He became popular with the daily serial Damini on DD Sahyadri. He has been playing the protagonist in the play “Me Nathuram Godse Boltoy”, based the sensitive issue of the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, since 1988 and claims to have been receiving threats for playing the role of Gandhi’s assassin.

Ponkshe was diagnosed with cancer in December 2018 and underwent chemotherapy before resuming stage with the play “Himalayachi Sawli” in 2019. He has played more than 100 roles in television and films

Writer and voiceover artiste Shruti Agashe, who shared the video of the incident in an Instagram post, said, “When all these happenings were taking place on the stage, I did not hear anyone from the audience complaining or expressing disappointment. At that time I realised why the audiences are held in high esteem in the artiste’s life because they not only criticise the artiste, but also support them wholeheartedly in their bad phase.”

A senior theatre director, requesting anonymity, said, “This is not a big issue. It is natural for artistes to forget the line, dialogue etc. We should not unnecessarily popularise the incident.”