Marathi play uniquely uses folk traditions to talk about censorship

June 18 2026 It is sweet serendipity that we meet Girish Datar and Apurva Kulkarni writerdirectors of Sawal Jawab on this day Itrsquos the 75th anniversary of the First Amendment to the Indian Constitution which introduced restrictions on citizensrsquo fundamental right to freedom of speech After all these years their Marathi musical play drums up mdash to the beats of the dholki mdash the everrelevant free speech debateThe ldquotamashardquo of freedom of expression as the playrsquos tongueincheek tag line says continues to rage around us And as artistes the consciencekeepers of society they turn ldquodebate into rhythm and resistance into musicrdquoThe play speaks out against censorship and speaks truth to power in the language of Maharashtrarsquos rich folk tradition It translates ideas otherwise confined to ivory towers to the theatre of the masses Serious social and political concerns are brought alive through a sparkling exchange between its unapologetic heroine tamasha artiste Kalawati Bai Sukanya Gurav and a host of characters including a politicianrsquos slimy aide all played by Sanket Joshi It will be staged at NMACC in BKC on June 27Apurva Kulkarni and Girish DatarThe writerdirector duo agree their effort was to marry intellectual thought with emotion making it accessible to a larger audience ldquoPlays that are cerebral often end up distancing the common man or woman That is a gap we wanted to bridge While Sawal Jawab takes up a complex topic it uses folk art to make it palatable to the audience Our attempt was to entertain while also giving people something thoughtprovokingrdquo Kulkarni saysA lawyer by training she feels the urgency of speaking up before itrsquos too late in a world where fear replaces freedom of expression ldquoIt is important to educate ourselves about free speech because of whatrsquos happening around us People are intimidated by the subject because of its complexity But we want to say that itrsquos not that difficult if you really engage with it Knowing our rights and duties will help us function better in this societyrdquoTheatrersquos power lies in creating an experience where the audience lsquofeelsrsquo their message deeply too the Punebased creators believeldquoApurvarsquos emotional quotient is higher than mine She is the one who kept a check on the emotional pulse of the play I am better at arguments and building on ideasrdquo Datar a former engineer says about their creative partnershipThe idea of the play came to him when he was reading Gautam Bhatiarsquos Shock Offend or Disturb and Abhinav Chandrachudrsquos Republic of Rhetoric ldquoWhen I was reading them I knew they had the potential for something theatrically interesting These books and the disturbing current debates on free speech came together to inspire the playrdquo What helped him make the journey from the erudite to the creative was an informal ldquoLetrsquos talk nonfictionrdquo group that hersquos part of ldquoIt has artists and people from different walks of life We meet and try to creatively realise the insights from the nonfiction we read It has been a good training ground for merdquoWas the leap from heavy intellectual texts to the energetic stage of Tamasha difficult ldquoIt was organicrdquo Datar replies ldquoI think we are seeing a revival of folk art forms at this moment in time for a reason Maybe our search for meaning has travelled back from Western art forms to now dig deeper into our own soil Perhaps itrsquoll answer some artistic need unfulfilled so farrdquoThe success of their choice of folk art to voice contemporary issues rides heavily on the back of the heroine and hero ldquoSukanya is a trained classical dancer so initially I had my doubts But in a few rehearsals she had nailed it She has not only choreographed all 15 dances but composed a few songs toordquo Datar says Joshi on the other hand adds his trademark humour to the play ldquoBeing a standup comedian his opening lines in the play are always spontaneous Theyrsquore a surprise for us toordquoThe play has received a rousing response from the audience across cities ldquoWe plan to take it to the hinterland too Since folk art is our medium performing it in rural areas will be a litmus test for usrdquo Datar signs off