I was deep into a conversation with my Dad. About life in general, work, what lies ahead….family….and so on…Suddenly he said…”Oh yeah…I forgot to mention, your snap was on television”….and I am like…”WHAT??”
Apparently this was on a programme, titled “Housefull” on Zee TV Marathi (8th Jan 2009). Curious I asked them, what was it about. Although I should I guessed. Housefull normally showcases new plays, playwrights and whats happening in general in the theatre scene in Maharashtra.
Mahesh Elkunchwar was being paid a tribute in the “22nd Arvind Deshpande Smruti Mahotsav (Festival)” produced/sponsored by the “Avishkar” group. I have mentioned before that Mahesh Elkunchwar is my grand-uncle on my father’s side. I am sorry to say that there was little/no information available on Arvind Deshpande. I will have to some more digging and I promise to have someone knowledgeable (mostly my Dad) to fill me in on this. The Festival itself is said to run from the 6th-10th of Jan in Mumbai (not Pune, I stand corrected) at the Yashwant Rao Chavhan Theatre. They are to showcase numerous of Mahesh-kaka’s plays.
While this tribute comes as no surprise, since he is one of the most well known playwrights in Marathi Theatre, it always is heart warming to see people rekindling his magic on stage. While we all Elkunchwars feel proud and are in awe of his achievement, my parents just got a tinge of pride to see his snap with me on the Tele. Take a peek for yourself…This was taken at his residence some 3-4 years ago or so.
Thanks Dad for uploading this video. I am sure Lucky (the neighbour’s dog) and their squeals of laughter and pride when I come on, do not interrupt the user experience 
. I hope you watch the video, and if you are keen on knowing I appear for 1 second…between seconds 57 and 58 .
It is funny, to even think about this, but I am curious to know if they asked for his permission to display these snaps.I would be most surprised if they did. I guess, they could have used so many snaps…I just tried to Google Mahesh Elkunchwar under images and got a lot of good snaps. I saw some of them in the video….this one with me and him…appeared third on the list …. I guess I am partly to blame as I put it up on my blog before….and as far as I remember I don’t recall seeking his permission either That doesn’t mean this was “ok”.
Taken out of context, snaps could be shameful and disastrous in the tabloids. I am not a famous personality caught doing suspicious things on camera. He is one though….thankfully…neither is he…in this case and well…. I am not flinching one bit. May be my only concern was that the snap could have been a touched up a bit …I am not as dark as I seem in that snap….come to think of it, neither is he .
I hope one day, people will look at my snap…and the person next to me…will well up with pride….for now…I will take the other stance….cherish my 1 second of TV fame…congratulate Mahesh Kaka….and well…bask in the glory of being an Elkunchwar
January 12, 2009 at 4:20 am |
Congratulations on that one ‘priceless’ second mate!
I’ve heard the name ‘Mahesh Elkunchwar’ many times from my mother, and she also talks about his literary works. I know you cherish the fact that you have such a legacy, and so have the right to bask in the glory that the surname brings you.
By the way, from my mother I learnt that Arvind Deshpande was one of the most sought after play-actors. But googling beyond that didn’t return too much information on him.
One last thing, the song that was playing in the background in the video “Lakh lakh chanderi tejachi..” is a personal favorite of mine just because of its historical value. It was one of the first songs ever to be recorded in the Prabhat Studios in Pune, a haven for marathi cinema. The film’s name was ‘Shejari’ made in 1941. Following is a youtube link to the video of that song..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9sya1hdESk&feature=related
Considering the resources available to the film-makers of that era, its just amazing they came up with this result.. I mean using the meagre lighting conditions to their advantage.. the choreography.. the lyrics and music.. its just awesome!
January 13, 2009 at 5:13 pm |
hehe..indeed you are not as dark!
Congratulations..may this 1 second turn into a lifetime soon.
Although I am not too sure you would want that to happen!
January 29, 2009 at 11:02 pm |
Ranjeet;
Small Correction = The festival was in Mumbai. They are playing Atmakatha in Pune I hear in Sudarshan Festival shortly. Although I have seen it in original cast (Dr. Lagoo, Suhas Joshi, Jyoti Subhash, Shubhangi Sangwai et al), will try to view once more.
Late Arwind Deshpande is synonimus with Chhabildas Theatre Movement (one play every weekend at chhabildas high school, Mumbai), the Bal Rangbhoomi (Little Theatre) Chalwal of 70 and 80’s when he produced legendary plays like Durga Jhali Gauri with his wife Sulabha (who is still going very strong and kind of wasted herself on TV soaps = may be this lends monetary support to her other hobbies). Many of Marathi Bollywood heroines of your generation or one before were trained in her workshops as child artists. Arwind also acted in a number of Hindi experimental movies and serious senior plays and always remembered as a good actor, teacher, producer.
January 30, 2009 at 7:59 am |
@ Dad,
Thanks ..made the change…
@ Saee…
Thank you
@NIkhil…
Its too bad we are ignorant…unaware….un-interested and/or may be all of the above of the achievements and work done in the older era….winds of change mate?
January 31, 2009 at 12:34 am |
@Rajeev kaka..
Thanks for that piece of trivia!
@Ranjeet
I agree mate.. more ‘unaware’ than ‘un-interested’ I would say! Much of the info of that golden era is still passed on from one generation to the next.. just like Rajeev kaka did here.. and it happens only when there are occasions like this (your blog post). Anyways.. it was nice to get a chance to do some research on those golden ‘black-&-white’ days!
April 2, 2009 at 7:26 pm |
Ranjeet;
Check out Aasakta Pune Website for their projects and Reviews. They staged Garbo and Pratibimba by Mahesh Uncle recently.