Char Chavghi

A Marathi theatre drama that is indeed a beautiful experience on stage. Written by Prashant Dalvi. Directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni. The actors are Rohini Hattangadi, Kadambari Kadam, Parna Pethe, Shreyas Raje, Ninad Limaye, Parth Ketkar and Mukta Barve.

In this drama, a mother & her three daughters take a revolutionary decision in their lives. They are not atall the ordinary women. Living alone & thinking independently. The mother has lived her life out of wedlock taking care of three girls. Naturally the daughters have led a life differently & they think differently.

This drama was a rage in 1990-2000 & now in 2002 , after 31 years all the cast & crew are new. Yet the story remains as fresh & new as it was then. Lata Narvekar , the producer dared to bring in a bold subject to the Marathi stage. A mathematics teacher by profession she solved the difficult sum of ‘Char Chavghi’.

The iconic telephonic talk by Vandana Gupte brought in awe & tears at the same time. Inaugurating on 8 March , ‘Women’s Day’ it celebrated more than thousand shows. Deepa Shriram had & has no alternative. She was just perfect for the role. The capable mother.

Vandana Gupte as the eldest daughter was all that & more. The long, telephone scene is a masterpiece! Who else than Vandana could give it full justice!!

Asawari Joshi as Vaiju would laugh & be the soul of the stage. A natural. The youngest ‘Vini’ none other than Pratiksha Lonkar. The boldest among the lot.

Not to forget the three male actors Sunil Barve, Prabodh Kulkarni & Milind Safaai. Sunil Barve as Viren in the second act had also a love song that the audience adored. Milind as Prakash was the thoughtful, silent member who had few but rare sentences to utter. The writer made sure he had the best ones.

Prabodh had a role as relief. Not comedy but a realistic person that we find around us. Of course he had to take lot of pains to make it real!

In the society we find ‘brotherhood’ but here we find ‘sisterhood’, said Vidya Bal. Naturally, not just women but men equally watched the play again & again. The success lies in repeat audience & the claps that come, keep on coming!

Message with many awards can fetch a large audience. The play set many a trends. Not just for women but for everyone in the society.

Watching it live is a treat!