Review: Jar Tar Chi Goshta Written by Irawati Karnik Directed by Adwait Dadarkar and Ranjit Patil Produced by Sonal Productions & Nandu Kadam Venue: Gadkari Rangayatan Auditorium Date: 17 August 2024
A 90’s love song takes us oldies down memory lane, as Radha, tells her fiancé Samar (and us) what they can expect married life to be. It’s their engagement, and we, the audience, actively partake in this occasion that is filled with promises of a forever.
This is how we are welcomed into the world of Jar Tar Chi Goshta, a two-act ‘Ma.Ta. Sanmaan’ Award-winning Marathi play written by Irawati Karnik and directed by Adwait Dadarkar and Ranjit Patil, produced by Sonal Productions and producer Nandu Kadam.
I was lucky to have witnessed their 150th show on the 17th of August, that too at the venue where they opened a year ago – the magnificent Gadkari Rangayatan Auditorium in Thane.
This auditorium is doubly special because I’ve grown up in this neighbourhood. My childhood home is right around the corner and me and my family (especially my cousins) used to bundle up here (sometimes reluctantly), to watch children’s plays such as ‘Gadvacha Lagna’ (A Donkey’s Wedding) and more.
Revisiting the space a few years later was a little surreal. The theatre seemed to still hold the same kind of memories, the feeling of ‘coming home’. And I was glad to see the Thane audience here in droves to catch Umesh Kamath (Samar), Priya Bapat (Radha), Pallavi Ajay (Sati) and Aashutosh Gokhale (Abir) play young adults navigating life, love and relationships
3 years after the engagement, we find that the couple’s forever didn’t last too long. Samar and Radha have divorced and have gone their separate ways. They both seem to have moved on, but when the lead characters (now exes) land up at the same resort with their current partners, they find that they need to break the ties that are still connecting them.
Priya Bapat steals the show as Radha, ambling through her new found relationship, and slowly discovering, that what she always wanted in a partner, she has finally found, but with an intensity that she wasn’t sure she was looking for. The scenes between Pallavi Ajay (Sati) and Radha are especially lovely to see as the two women discover what is most important to them! Umesh Kamat’s ‘Samar’ has an endearing quality — he is always in the middle of the action, yet observes it all as an outsider, offering commentary along the way. And Abir’s (Aashutosh Gokhale) energy just livens up the story, especially with his unique way of dealing with bad news — by turning to his Bluetooth speaker and cranking up an energetic South Indian dance number.
There were a few moments where it felt like all the performers were playing to the gallery (and quite a gallery, the Rangayatan is, indeed). Even then, there was a lot one could take away from the show. The music for instance, has been used in an excellent manner throughout, right from Priya singing to Abir using music as therapy. The production has also been set up with really nice lighting sequences to denote different settings. One flashback scene in particular stands out, illustrating the character's journey so far with the clever use of shadows, further showing us where life for them is headed.
What really struck me about the play was how the co-directors have skillfully portrayed the way Samar and Radha sought specific qualities in one another. Isn’t that something people in relationships always do? Have a template in mind? (Even if we don’t want to admit that we do!).
The story left me with a question: do we need a partner to be whole? Or are we complete by ourselves? The beauty of the play lies in how both answers seem valid, and the performance delves into just that, leaving behind a lingering feeling of 'what if's', with a blend of humor, music, and poignant moments.
Jar Tar Chi Goshta is playing across multiple venues in Mumbai, Pune and other parts of Maharashtra. Divyesh Vijayakar is an advertising copywriter and content writer based in Thane, Maharashtra. He’s also been a theatre actor on the Mumbai stage since the year 2006, has gone on to do a movie here, a web series there, but keeps coming back to the theatre, in some form or the other.
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