The play Murderwale Kulkarni is a typical farce with characters caught in complex, funny situations. Written by Jayant Upadhyay and directed by Santosh Pawar, the Marathi play, which will be staged in Hyderabad, has Vaibhav Mangle in the lead role of Kulkarni and Bhargavi Chirmule as his wife Mrs Kulkarni.
Crime and comedy
A scene from the play | Photo Credit: special arrangement
The play depicts a day in the life of Madhav Kulkarni (Vaibhav), who is the lone witness to a murder. He hopes to hide away and avoid problems, but the murderer turns up and threatens Madhav and his wife. So when the police arrive, the couple is too scared to talk, leading to hilarious twists and turns.
With a run time of two-and-half hours (with a break), the play promises to be immersive. Using comedy, the play also subtly imparts the importance of values in life.
Of films and theatre
Vaibhav Mangle | Photo Credit: special arrangement
Traversing the world of films and theatre, Vaibhav is a versatile actor doing comedy and serious roles. Timing is significant in every performance, and is critical in comedy, he says. “A good script is important for comedy to be effective. Unlike stand-up which relies mostly on punchlines, situational comedy also needs artistes playing the character with ease so that the narrative feels light-hearted and humorous and not forced.”
Love for theatre
With over 150 shows across Maharashtra in the past nine months, the play makes its debut in Hyderabad.
A scene from the play | Photo Credit: special arrangement
While Vaibhav is excited to see the Marathi theatre community in Hyderabad actively organising the play, he is not surprised. “Maharashtraians will never miss doing two things: Ganapati utsav and watching a play. Theatre is a part of Marathi culture, a treasure and legacy passed down generations. Marathi plays have more audiences than films. People love watching natak (theatre) and will go quite far to watch it.”
Murderwale Kulkarni will be staged at Ravindra Bharathi on August 25 , from 7pm onwards. Tickets: ₹200 on bookmyshow.com
