SHIVAJI AND BEYOND...

This article appeared originally in Mumbai Mirror, of the Times Of India group.

RAJA JAANTA AAHE …
A 'goonga' actor speaks on the misuse of Shivaji Maharaj's name

Think Shri Ram. Think Allah. Think B. R. Ambedkar. And now think
Shivaji. "The memory of Shivaji Maharaj is being exploited by
political parties for their personal gains," admits Pravin Shirole
after much prodding. A relevant admission, made one day before Shirole
enacts the title role of Shivaji in Jaanta Raja, a Marathi play of
epic proportion, for the BJP silver jubilee celebrations. The play's
peculiar feature is that the actors don't speak but lipse the
dialogues, which are projected via a recording so the audience
(comprising thousands at times) don't miss a word. "This has led to us
being called 'goonga actors' by many film and theatre people,"
complains Shirole. This goonga actor, however, has much to say.
Jaanta Raja, written and directed by historian Babasaheb Purondhare,
brings on a 3,000 square feet stage 300 actors, horses, elephants,
camels and a set as high as a five-floor building. Purondhare wanted
to make a play which wasn't representative but life-like. His success
at this is warranted by the fact that the play has had over 700 shows,
in India and abroad.
Shirole's success at performing the title role, which he's being doing
for 20 years, is warranted by the fact that people refuse to believe
he performs it. "People would ask me after having watched the show ten
times – Where did Shivaji Maharaj go?" he laughs, and needles, "And
these were educated gentlemen from metropolises, one of them a
journalist." He'd once jokingly told some disbelievers to wait at a
particular spot where 'Shivaji Maharaj' would emerge from his car to
make his stage entry. They waited there till show end and were aghast
that only Shirole had passed by. Part of this disbelief is understood
if you meet overly humble Shirole, in his old house in Pune – paint
chipping of the walls and some well worn furniture strewn around. It's
tough to imagine him dump the old shirt, trousers and chappals and don
Maratha gear (sword and all) to gallop around a stage.
Also possible, however, is that this disbelief comes from the
reverence that surrounds the Maratha emperor. As do the audiences.
"People line up for five kilometres to buy tickets," he says,
"Thousands queue up over night with their families so that they're
there at the ticket counter when it opens." Once, thousands of
villagers sat on the cold ground in the middle of winter - some
falling ill thereby - watching the show. "It'd be foolish to think we
as actors can beget this response," Shirole points out, "it's Shivaji
Maharaj." Once, Vijaysingh Mohite Patil had lent his horse for
'Shivaji' to ride during the show. The animal bolting suddenly threw
Shirole off, but being an experienced horseman, he managed to land on
his feet. Patil told him later, "Thank God you managed; else Shivaji
Maharaj would have fallen off our family's horse."
Rumours were rife in theatre and political circles that Shirole would
use this image to contest elections. He dismisses them. But these
rumours aren't as absurd as they seem. Shirole is the only actor to
have played this role. And this is the only role that Shirole has
played. But this wasn't to be so. "The person originally chosen for
this role got so famous even before the play's release that he stood
for the Pune Municipal Corporation's elections," recounts Shirole, "He
was so busy canvassing that he didn't turn up for the first show."
Hence Purondhare, who had always thought Shirole, then a production
assistant, would do well as Shivaji asked him to take the stage – even
though he'd never acted before! What astounds Shirole is that the
other actor won the Corporation elections. "With no financial or
family support," he exclaims, "Just on Shivaji Maharaj's name!"
Asked whether he sees Shivaji's ideals around him today
Shirole says he does, not in politics, but in the InfoTech sector.
"The Indian contribution to the IT explosion and groundbreaking
research work done by Indians abroad speak of Shivaji's values," he
elucidates. For this actor who's stayed with one character for two
decades Shivaji was a man of the future. "If alive today, he wouldn't
have drowned himself in history, far less used it for propaganda," he
explains further, "He would have worked in context with science –
computers maybe.Do you know, Shivaji merged Indian and European ship
designs together to create a brilliant new kind of sea vessel?" No
Pravin. But we do know about the usurping of history and the arts.
Unfortunately, however, that is one crime our Constitution doesn't
guard against.
Rishi Majumder

• January, 1992. During the Malegaon riots an organisation called
Jaanta Raja Mitra Mandal, set up by members of the Shiv Sena for
social service headed a mob which looted Muslim homes and beat up two
Muslim women (one of them six months pregnant). Shivaji was known to
punish soldiers for mistreating women and had sent his enemy, the
Nawab of Kalyan's daughter home with honour intact.
• October, 2005. The government proposed building a 100 crore rupee
statue of Shivaji. When reporters from this paper asked the man on the
street his opinion, a state government employee remarked, "We don't
have money to eat and they want to build a 100 crore rupee statue? Are
they even worthy of taking Shivaji's name?"