''Me Nathuram Godse Boltoy'' is a two-act play written in the

Marathi language Marathi (; , 𑘦𑘨𑘰𑘙𑘲, , ) is a Classical languages of India, classical Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra and is also spoken in Goa, and parts of Guj ...

. It has been written by Pradeep Dalvi (Mauli productions). It is based on the book ''May It Please You Honour'' written by Gopal Godse. According to Karline McLain the play enacts Godse's defense plea and thus explores the assassination of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

and the trial of Godse from Godse's point of view.

Staging and controversies

In 1989, Dalvi was denied permission by the Government of Maharashtra to stage the play. The play was first staged in 1997. It ran 13 successful shows but was banned thereafter, by the governments of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

and

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. The producer approached the high court in 1998, which permitted staging the play in 2001. The

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

upheld the high court's ruling. It was staged in

Thane Thane (; previously known as Thana, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city located on the northwestern side of the list of Indian states, state of Maharashtra in India and on ...

's auditorium Gadkari Rangayatan in April 2001 facing opposition from parties like

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and Nationalist Congress Party; it was not presented again in Thane until 2011. An Indian Express news story quotes director Vinay Apte regarding the intimidation that artists connected with the play faced, such as the incident when the bus used by the artists while touring was set on fire by Indian National Congress activists in Mulund a suburb of

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 ...

. Despite this 627 shows were staged in other cities. In February 2011, the play re-opened to a packed house at the same Gadkari Rangayatan, in Thane. Two

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

s of state reserve police and 350 regular policemen under the direction of senior officers provided security. According to Tushar Gandhi, Gandhi's great-grandson, the play creates martyrs of murderers who after "murdering him ( Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) are now trying to murder his memory". It starred Sharad Ponkshe as Nathuram Godse.

Criticism

Both the play and its ban have been criticized by

Shriram Lagoo Dr. Shriram Lagoo (16 November 1927 – 17 December 2019) was an Indian film and theatre actor, in Hindi and Marathi language, Marathi, in addition to being an ENT Surgeon. He was known for his character roles in films. He acted in over 250 fi ...

a view which was considered representative of the views of other theater workers such as Vijay Tendulkar, Satyadev Dubey and

Amol Palekar Amol Palekar (born 24 November 1944) is an Indian actor, director and producer of Hindi and Marathi cinema. Early life and education Palekar was born to Kamlakara and Suhasini Palekar in a Marathi language, Marathi speaking middle-class family ...

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

in its article ''Banning a play is not the solution''. Civil liberties activists have opposed the ban though they consider the play "vicious".

Nathuramayan

Yashawant Dinkar Phadke in his book ''Nathuramayan'' has criticised Dalvi's play as presenting "distorted and falsified facts". Political activists opposing the play have urged Dalvi to answer questions put forward by Phadke in ''Nathuramayan''.

References

{{Mahatma Gandhi Entertainment in India Marathi-language plays Censorship in India Indian plays Works about the Mahatma Gandhi assassination 1997 plays Censored plays

Staging and controversies

Criticism

Nathuramayan

See also

References