''Master Phoolmani'' is a 1999 Gujarati-language

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

comedy play that was written by Chandrakant Shah and directed by

Manoj Shah Manoj Sakarchand Shah (born 5 February 1955) is an Indian theatre director, actor and producer known for his works in the Gujarati theatre. He has directed over 90 Play (theatre), plays, such as Solo performance, one-man plays and biographical p ...

. The play was adapted from

Satish Alekar Satish Vasant Alekar (born 30 January 1949) is a Marathi playwright, actor, and theatre director. A founder member of the Theatre Academy of Pune, and most known for his plays ''Mahanirvan'' (1974), ''Mahapoor'' (1975), ''Atirekee'' (1990), ''P ...

's work '' Begum Barve'' (1979), which Chandrakant Shah rewrote from a

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

i viewpoint to be more relatable to Gujarati audience. The play, which is one of Manoj Shah's best-known works, was first staged on 15 November 1999 at

Horniman Circle Gardens The Horniman Circle Gardens is a large park in South Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, which encompasses an area of . It is situated in the Fort district of Mumbai, and is surrounded by office complexes housing the country's premier banks. Designed ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. It was influenced by the Bhangavadi theatre style, and depicts the story of two out-of-work theatre actors who enter the fantasy of two aged bachelor clerks.

Background

''Master Phoolmani'' was adapted by Chandrakant Shah from

's work ''Begum Barve'' (1979); Shah adapted the script to have Gujarati viewpoints so it would be more relatable to Gujarati audience. The play's premiere, which was directed and produced by

under his company Ideas Unlimited, was held on 15 November 1999 at

, Mumbai, during the Prithvi Theatre Festival. As of 2015, over 100 performances of the play, which has 29 songs, have been held.

Bhupen Khakhar Bhupen Khakhar (also spelled Bhupen Khakkar, 10 March 1934 – 8 August 2003) was an Indian artist. He was a member of the Baroda Group and gained international recognition for his work as "India's first 'Pop' artist." Works Khakhar was a sel ...

painted the play's backdrop.

Plot

''Master Phoolmani'' is about people who create fantasies to contest the harsh realities of the world. Manilal, an actor who uses the stage name Phoolmani, is famous for playing female roles. He is stuck with Bhatia Seth, the owner of a theatre troupe, who provides him employment whilst physically and emotionally abusing. Sumanlal and Vasantlal, government clerks who are bachelors with little chance of getting married, hate their lives and are waiting for a miracle to happen. In an intertwined fantasy, Manilal turns into a heroine named Vanlata and marries Sumanlal. They enjoy their fantasy and Manilal starts believing he is pregnant with Sumanlal's child. Sumanlal also believes he is going to be the father of Vanlata's child. However, Bhatia Seth and Vasantlal shatter their fantasy and the play, which takes a tragic turn.

Cast

The original cast included: *

Chirag Vohra Chirag Vohra is an Indian television, stage and film actor. He has acted in films like '' Tere Bin Laden'', '' Billu'', ''Heyy Babyy'', '' Mangal Pandey: The Rising'', '' Jaago'' and ''Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein'' and Scam 1992 (2020). He is w ...

as Manilal/Phoolmani/Vanlata * Parag Jhaveri as Vasantlal * Utkarsh Mazumdar as Sumanlal *

as Bhatia Seth

Reception

''Master Phoolmani'' was a great success and was performed hundreds of times. Utpal Bhayani called the play a "fulfilling experience" and gave credit to the writer, director and actors. He praised the actors for their performances and especially praised the production team for authentically and accurately recreating the old

Gujarati theatre Gujarati theatre refers to theatre performed in the Gujarati language, including its Gujarati language#Dialects, dialects. Gujarati theatre is produced mainly in Gujarat and Maharashtra, in cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Baroda, Surat and els ...

experience, including the use of old songs, live music performances and old properties.

Dhwanil Parekh Dhwanil Ravindrabhai Parekh (b. 28 October 1976 ) is a Gujarati language poet, critic and playwright from Gujarat, India. His significant works include ''Dariyo Bhalene Maane'' (2008; Ghazal anthology), ''Antim Yuddha'' (2009; drama) and ''Sank ...

praised the "live presentation" of the songs and cited the play as a milestone in Gujarati theatre.

Footnotes

References

{{reflist 1999 musicals Gujarati-language plays Musical comedy plays Plays based on other plays