What will be the conclusion for the history of balgandharva?
Answers
he stage performer who got butchered by progress in the entertainment field called cinema, the stubborn showman who refused to give up his own perceived purity of the art form for commercial compulsions, the one who performed seamlessly on stage in the face of personal tragedy, the one who blindly trusted his friends for everything despite it being detrimental, the man who left a devoted household for the arms of a beautiful artiste who worshiped his art, the man for whom the stage was a reality and reality was a stage, was the man popularly known as Bal Gandharva and this is his story.
Bal Gandharva the movie, is about Narayan Shripad Rajhans; a singing child prodigy. The title was bestowed upon him by Lokmanya Tilak. The growth of the man, into a ready natya sangeet ( musical plays) performer is the graph of this movie. He belonged to an era in which women did not act on stage & male performers had to play the parts of female characters. This was the place where the singer gained his fame. By far the artist to have played the most number of female characters on stage he was synonymous for playing Draupadi, Shakuntala, Bhamini and making each performance memorable for his viewers. He is also responsible for popularizing classical music (shastriya sangeet) through the medium of the stage. His progress from a child prodigy to an artist working in Kirloskar Music Company, to breaking away to form his own theater group, his lavish stylish magnum opuses on stage that led to fame as well as personal bankruptcy is the thread of this story.
No sooner than I reached home and got my first call from a friend who asked me why was the phone shut, to be told that I had gone to see “Bal Gandharva”. How was it? This question sparked off a chain of thought and told him read my review. Now I find myself in a quandary…Did I like the film or Did I not like the film? And I had a Yes as an answer to both the questions. How is that possible? One cant like a movie and not like it equally at the same time can one? Apparently going by this film one can. Here is a movie I shall grandly sit on the fence and agree with both who passionately liked it and those who dismissed it. Read On.