Herbarium to revive Marathi musical theatre

Noted actor Sunil Barve, intends to bring back the lost glory of Marathi musical plays, which was pushed in the background due to the growth of TV and cinema.

Noted actor Sunil Barve, intends to bring back the lost glory of Marathi musical plays, which was pushed in the background due to the growth of TV and cinema.

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"The initiative called 'Herbarium' will see some old classics being recreated on stage by new directors and artists. Well known theatre directors like Pratima Kulkarni, Chandrakant Kulkarni, Mangesh Kadam, Vijay Kenkre and Girish Joshi will be part of the initiative to recreate the magic of theatre musicals known as sangeet natak," Barve said.

Explaining the meaning of herbarium, Barve said, "Herbarium is a collection of dried plants mounted, labelled, and systematically arranged for use in scientific study and a place or institution where such a collection is kept."

Marathi musical plays were initiated by Vishnudas Bhave and scaled glorious heights due to efforts of luminaries like Annasaheb Kirloskar and Ram Ganesh Gadkari.

The group has selected classics like 'Sanshay Kallol', 'Manapman', 'Saubhadra', 'Shantecha Karta', 'Garambicha Bapu', 'Vedyacha Ghar Unhat', 'Vahto Hee Durvachi Judi', 'Dinuchya Saasubai Radhabai', 'Suryachi Pille' and 'Zopi Gelela Jaga Zala'.

The first play to be restaged was 'Suryachi Pille' in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane over the last weekend.