''Amar Photo Studio'' is a two-act

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

play directed by

Nipun Dharmadhikari Nipun Avinash Dharmadhikari (born in 1987) is a Marathi writer, actor, and director. He is known for the revival of Sangeet Natak(Musicals) and long five act plays. Early life & personal life Dharmadhikari's early education was in a convent ...

, featuring

Amey Wagh Amey Wagh (born 13 November 1987) is an Indian Marathi actor known for films such as ''Popat'', '' Faster Fene'', ''Muramba'', '' Girlfriend''. He was recently seen portraying Kushal in season 2 of '' Sacred Games'' and Rasool Sheikh in '' As ...

Sakhi Gokhale Sakhi Gokhale (born 27 July 1993) is a Marathi television and theatre actress. She known for her portrayed in ''Dil Dosti Duniyadari'' as Reshma Inamdar and '' Dil Dosti Dobara'' as Pari. Early life and education Gokhale attended Sahyadri Sch ...

, Suvrat Joshi, Pooja Thombre and Siddhesh Purkar. The first show was on August 13, 2016 at Yashwantrao Chavan Natyagruha,

Kothrud Kothrud (Kothrud Baug during the Maratha Empire era) is an upmarket residential neighborhood in the city of Pune. The neighborhood is located to the West-Central region of the city. During the recent times, Kothrud has seen a rapid expansion a ...

. It was written by

Manaswini Lata Ravindra Manaswini Lata Ravindra is a Marathi playwright, screenwriter and director, known for writing the play ''Amar Photo Studio'' and also being one of the writers of the Marathi sitcom ''Dil Dosti Duniyadari''. In 2016, she is a recipient of the S ...

. The play is produced by Subak, in association with Kalakarkhana. Sakhi Gokhale was replaced by

Parna Pethe Parna Pethe is an Indian film & theatre actress who has appeared in many Marathi films and experimental plays. Early life Parna was born and raised in Pune. She studied at Abhinava Vidyalaya School and graduated from Fergusson College, Pune ...

after the 250th show.

Conception

While shooting for ''

Dil Dosti Duniyadari ''Dil Dosti Duniyadari'' is a Marathi television sitcom produced by Sanjay Jadhav and Deepak Rane. It started airing on Zee Marathi from 9 March 2015 and also digitally available on ZEE5. It revolves around six friends living as paying guests ...

'', the cast wanted to create stories that the audience could relate to hence they came up with the gist for the play and approached the writer of the show, Manaswini, to expand upon it. After eight drafts, the script for ''Amar Photo Studio'' was created.

Plot summary

The story revolves around two lovers, Apu and Tanu. Their relationship has become monotonous. Apu is stressed out due to abandonment issues with the father figures, who left the family at 27 and never returned. Now that Apu is 27, he is depressed and has become suicidal. Just as he is about to commit suicide, Tanu comes there and he is saved. Later, it is discovered that Apu has been offered a scholarship for research abroad. So for clicking photograph for the visa, Apu needs to go. But instead of that, Apu wastes his time around, which chagrines Tanu. The relationship also is in turmoil due to the prospect of the long-distance relationship once Apu is abroad. Tanu takes him to 'Amar Photo Studio', to click a picture. There they meet an old man who starts telling them philosophies. Thinking that he is a mad man, they want to leave. Just then, the man clicks a picture and they are transported back to the past. The rest of the play explores their interactions with the past. Apu is transported to film shooting in 1942, while Tanu is transported to a cafe in 1976. Apu meets the heroine, Chandrika. Tanu meets a hippy (smoking weed) whom she discovers to be her father. Apu discovers how life is difficult for Chandrika. When they return to the present, they find that they were fighting on petty issues and patch up again.

Cast and crew

On-stage cast

* Suvrat Joshi as Apu *

(

after 250 shows) as Tanu *

as the old Photographer and V. Shantaram * Pooja Thombre as Chandrika, an actress from 1942 and two other characters * Siddhesh Purkar as Keshavrao Date and other characters

Other crew

, writer *

, director * Pradeep Mulye, set design * Kalyani Kulkarni-Gugle, costume design * Santosh Gilbile, makeup design * Gandhar Sangoram, background music * Akshata Tithe, choreography * Jasraj Joshi and Sanhita Chandorkar, Vocals refs :

Reception

In 2018 the play completed its 250 show mark and the performance of the actors has been appreciated by veteran actors like

Shubhangi Gokhale Shubhangi Gokhale (born 2 June 1968) is an Indian Marathi and Hindi theatre, film and television actress. She is the wife of late Hindi/Marathi actor Mohan Gokhale who played the title role on the Doordarshan show '' Mr Yogi''. She has complete ...

. The play has also been well received by audiences in the UK and is the first Marathi play to explore time travel.

Awards

Maharashtra State Professional Drama Competition 2017

The play won the second runner-up position. Amey Wagh won the silver medal for best male actor.

References

{{Reflist 2016 plays Marathi-language plays Fantasy theatre Plays set in India Literature about time travel