Mahanirvan

The Dread Departure

Marathi Play in Two Acts

Mahanirvan has been considered one of the most distinguished plays, a reputed milestone in the history of Indian Theatre. Right from the first show of the play, in 1974, till today with about 400 shows; it is one of the finest pieces of artistic craftsmanship. The theme /content of this play is so apt and relevant to socio-cultural aspects that it has been translated and performed in more than 10 languages across the country. Mahanirvan is also one of the prescribed texts in the university curriculum for literature courses. Besides its extraordinarily different writing style, it is highly revered for its treatment on stage. The entire play is performed in a lyrical/ musical form using Maharashtrian folklore like kirtan, gondhal, bhajan, abhang, etc. With its unique feature of canny humour and black comedy, the play aptly highlights the intricacies of human relations and emotional ethos, while passing subtle messages on socio-cultural systems, typical human tendencies, customs and traditions, etc.

In November 2024, Mahanirvan completed 50 years. Exactly fifty years ago, the first performance of this play was presented by the Theatre Academy at Bharat Natya Mandir, Pune, as part of the State Drama Competition. From 1974 to 2011, the institution staged Mahanirvan over 400 times. The play was written and directed by Satish Alekar, with music by Anand Modak. The central character, Bhaurav, was portrayed by Chandrakant Kale. Initially, Satish Alekar played the role of Nana, and for the last 45 years, this role has been played by Prasad Purandare. In one or two performances, Ravindra Mankani also played this role. The role of Ramaa was initially played by Dr. Madhuri Bhave (Gore), and later by Manjiri Paranjpe, Kalpana Deolankar, Sujal Watve, and Gauri Laagu. Many who worked on this play from the beginning are no longer with us, including Anand Modak, Ramesh Medhekar, Suresh Basale, Shrikant Gadre, Arvind Thakar, Nandu Pol, and the stage manager Shrihar Rajguru. We salute their memories.

Since 2018, the play Mahanirvan has been presented under the banner of Pune’s Natak Company, which was directed by Satish Alekar. The generation born after 1974, when the play started, is now performing this play on stage. They have also completed 50 performances. As the play completes 50 years, it is truly fortunate that the new cast has also reached the milestone of 50 performances.

Written and directed by Satish Alekar

Music Compositions: Late Anand Modak

Musicians: Swapnil Kulkarni, Ketan Pawar, Swanand Tarde & Manish Vipradas

Cast: Nachiket Devasthali, Sayalee Phatak, Siddharth Mahashabde, Mayureshwar Kale, Bhaktiprasad Deshmane, Bhushan Mehere, Chinmay Patwardhan, Sandesh Kulkarni, Varad Salvekar, Ninaad Gore, Saurabh Shaligram, Rohit Petkar, Ketan Visal & Sumit Madhur

An NCPA Presentation in collaboration with Natak Company, Pune Production