Museum woos Marathi manoos

Discussing art, movies and literature in Marathi at public venues, that largely conduct discourse in the Queen's language, is uncommon but must be vital to achieve inclusivity. It is with this aim that Mumbai's Bhau Daji Lad (BDL) museum, started an initiative, Museum Katta, to hit a cord with the Marathi speaking populace. The initiative not only holds the potential to draw a new audience, but may also help placate local politicians with whom the museum administration has had run-ins in the past.

Museum Katta, touted as a year-long initiative that started in April, will see the museum host five sessions every year for five categories of art — cinema, theatre, literature, folk culture and music, says the staff at BDL. Each event will be conducted by leading stalwarts from the said fields. An informal setup, unlike the one in which the audience plays the fourth wall, Museum Katta aims to be an interactive platform. "Katta is the coffeehouse of our times, with the same purpose of holding informal discussions, exchange ideas or even hold arguments," says actor, director and producer Amol Palekar.

The 72-year-old film veteran, flagged off the inaugural Museum Katta session on April 23 about Marathi cinema at the museum's Education Centre. "We look at museums as something frozen in time and our expectations end there. But every form of folk art has an amazing capacity of changing with the times and yet retaining its strengths and identity. Such a series will connect with today's generation and Mumbai."

Palekar traced the evolution of Marathi cinema, talking about its ability to not distinguish between experimental films and mainstream gloss, the phase when it underwent 'Bollywoodization', its comeback in the last two decades and its long struggle for visibility in multiplexes given Bollywood and Hollywood hog primetime.

Legendary filmmakers Dadasaheb Phalke, V Shantaram and Baburao Painter found mention in Palekar's session, especially the latter for his Marathi commercial films that weaved in social causes. Palekar classified directors Bhalji Pendharkar, Master Vinayak and Satyadev Dube as path breakers. Hailing the current crop of Marathi filmmakers, Paresh Mokashi, Umesh Kulkarni, Nagraj Manjule, Chaitanya Tamhane as harbingers of a new wave in Marathi cinema with their movies such as Sairat, Fandry, Pistulya, Killa, Court, and Shwaas, he lauded them for broaching gritty and controversial issues that cripple local communities.

The next Museum Katta is on May 21. While details of the speaker have not yet been announced, be assured that with the likes of theatre personality Dr Jabbar Patel, filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar and writer-historian Shanta Gokhale, there'll be many months of stimulating sessions with pipping cups of cutting chai.