Hindi theatre stages comeback in city, needs more promotion

Nagpur: In an indication of the growing popularity of Hindi plays, the ongoing 51st Maharashtra State Hindi Theatre competition is drawing a decent response from city theatre aficionados. The audience has grown as the number of Hindi plays being staged has increased. However, a ‘houseful’ tag for a Hindi play still seems to be a distant dream.
Directors, writers and theatre artistes, all agree that Hindi theatre is finding its feet in Nagpur, where Marathi theatre is dominant. They feel, though, that Hindi theatre still lacks in good promotion skills.
Vaidehi Chawre, coordinator of the theatre fest, said that though the response is decent, the plays haven’t been able to garner a full house yet. She adds, “The ongoing Hindi theatre competition is not attracting expected audience. Maybe because of show slots. For instance, not everyone is OK with morning shows on weekdays.”
Salim Sheikh, a well-known writer and director, predominantly works in Marathi theatre but also dabbles in Hindi theatre, is happy to see the increase in number of good Hindi plays being staged in Nagpur. “I believe love and respect for Hindi theatre has increased in the city, and Vidarbha at large, since the last few years. There were times when hunting for a handful of good Hindi plays was a task. Yet, now there are plenty of well written plays,” he said.
Agreeing with Sheikh, Lalit Ghavghave, a theatre actor, believes that there are a select few good Hindi plays that are staged, maybe once a month or so. “Here, people's Hindi also carries an essence of Marathi. I believe there should be equal promotion of Hindi plays, so the beauty of quality theatre is enjoyed by audience in both language,” he said.
However, Virendra Ganvir, whose play was also staged in the theatre competition, feels that there is an equal set of audience for both Hindi and Marathi plays. “Number of people showing up for Hindi plays is less than the Marathi ones, but if any play carries a good story and acting, it will always outshine,” he said.
As for promoting Hindi theatre in the city, there are more factors at play than just the language. “Before planning any state-level Hindi competition, government must chose appropriate timings. Nobody will take leave to watch a play at 12 noon, during office hours,” added Salim Sheikh.
Writer-director Shital Dodke feels that choosing appropriate centres will also facilitate smooth staging of these plays, “Usually, the plays are held at different centres. Even though the audience has increased, are we attracting enough audience? It needs more promotion and appropriate season for such contests,” he said.