This year, Ganeshotsav in Pune, is riding high on politics and patriotism. The elephant god will arrive in the city in a myriad of designs with some of them themed around major events that changed the course of the country in 2019.
At Malhar studios, Navi peth, owner Mahesh Limaye is giving final touches to the mixing of scripts that are tailor-made for various mandals. “We incorporate some of the dialogues from latest Bollywood films into our script to make it a crowd puller,” added Limaye.
“With the government scrapping Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, some organisers have themed their mandaps around Article 370. Not just that, at least 40 mandals have opted for stories of heroism from the Ghazi Attack, Jallianwalla Baug and Uri: the surgical strike, as the themes for this year,” said Limaye.
Anvay Bendre, a voice-over artist, who lends his voice to these scripts, said, “During the 10-day Ganeshotsav, some mandals are leaving no stone unturned to showcase patriotism. Some mandals want to show the three phases of Kashmir, past, present and future; while some want to explain the story of Article 370 with live dekhava (live artistes).
Limaye said, “Most of the mandals come to us post Dahi Handi, there are some mandals who have a well-laid out plan and theme. We deliberate on the ideas and then finalise the topic. Our team of copywriters write a script for the mandals that is an absolute crowd puller. Shri Krishna Mandal in camp had the theme ‘Ghazi Attack’ in mind when they approached us.”
{{/usCountry}}Limaye said, “Most of the mandals come to us post Dahi Handi, there are some mandals who have a well-laid out plan and theme. We deliberate on the ideas and then finalise the topic. Our team of copywriters write a script for the mandals that is an absolute crowd puller. Shri Krishna Mandal in camp had the theme ‘Ghazi Attack’ in mind when they approached us.”
{{/usCountry}}“The duration of these recordings is usually between five to ten minutes. If the script demands more artistes, we usually have one male and one female voice while recording the script,” added Bendre.
In Elcom studio, one of the oldest recording studios in Pune, Mukund Phadkale, a recordist is giving final touches to a script that Deepak Rege, often hailed as the most sought after voice, is recording. “I am currently working on a scene from the life of Shivaji Maharaj and after that I will record a script based on social issues, like, is Internet a boon or a curse? However, this year, most mandals are opting for patriotism as their theme,” said Rege.
These recordings cost the mandals anywhere between ₹5,000 to ₹20,000, depending on the voice-over artistes. “However, we overlook the cost or take bare minimum cost from the madals which choose a social issue as their theme. Hirabaug Mandal at Shukrawar peth has chosen to create awareness on Thalassemia, for which we have prepared the script,” said Limaye.