Seasoned though he is -- as a theatre actor, director and producer with nearly 60 years of experience, Sanjay Pendse revels most in children’s theatre. His eyes sparkle, his voice assumes a crisper tone and his step earns an extra pep when he talks about children’s theatre. “I have all the time in the world for children’s theatre, but I engage in adult theatre only when I have spare time,” he says outlining his priorities. Today, Sanjay Pendse stands at an important cross-roads of his illustrious career in theatre. ‘Bal Ranjan’, the children’s theatre group he founded has entered fiftieth year of its meaningful activity. This year also marks a very important milestone for the theatre movement of the region as Ranjan Kala Mandir, founded by the iconic playwright and director (the late) Purshottam Darwhekar ‘Master’ also enters its 75th year since inception. It was in the folds of Ranjan Kala Mandir that Sanjay Pendse launched his career in theatre -- initially as a child artist. As he recalls all those years of his career, Sanjay Pendse sits back and says, in effect, that “children’s theatre is no child’s play. It is a serious affair requiring every possible input at its best -- play-writing, direction, choice of actor.

 

If any of these inputs lags behind, the whole show loses its spark. Children’s theatre, therefore, is considered a very serious activity the world over.” How true ! Children’s theatre is not child’s play ! “Let me insist, however, that children’s theatre does not mean in the least that actors etc should be kids. Not at all. In children’s theatre, adults, too, are required and play important roles. Children’s theatre is as comprehensive in every term as adult theatre, nothing more and nothing less”, Sanjay Pendse adds. One senses this element of serious in the long conversation with Sanjay Pendse in his home complete with a shelf full of countless trophies he has earned and won during his illustrious career. The sense of satisfaction in his personality is just unmissable. In fact, it has an infectious quality that draws the listener into the world of theatre -- for children and for adults. “Darwhekar ‘Master’ was an iconic personality. He created a fine organisation in Ranjan Kala Mandir, carved out many great actors and directors out of raw young people, and gave the region’s theatre movement something to cherish, something to preserve,” Sanjay Pendse ‘Sir’ says. Sanjay Pendse got his ‘blooding’ in Ranjan Kala Mandir. In school, as a 4-year-old, he had acted in a play, and got hooked on to its appeal.

 

Those were the early years of Ranjan Kala Mandir making its presence felt. It did not present on adult theatre but also presented children’s shows through the idea of Bal Mela. There were other theatre groups as well, but Ranjan Kala Mandir had its own eminence -- thanks to the aura of Darwhekar ‘Master’ (who later shifted to Mumbai but kept a keen eye on the activities in Nagpur). But that exposure gave Sanjay Pendse and his friend Priyadarshan Madkholkar the idea of launching a children’s theatre group -- whose name ‘Bal Ranjan’ was chosen by none other than Manohar Mhaisalkar whose leadership was giving a push to the region’s theatre and literary movements. Early on, Sanjay Pendse decided to make a career in theatre. In order to go deeper into the dramatic arts, as a 17-year-old, he proceeded to Mumbai (then Bombay) to participate in a theatre workshop conducted by the iconic theatre personality Vijaya Mehta. There, he learned his ropes well and returned to Nagpur with greater enthusiasm and take a head-on plunge into dramatic activity.

 

Meanwhile, a course in Film Appreciation at the Film and Television Institute of India (in Pune) added another dimension to Sanjay Pendse’s understanding of acting and direction as forms of art. Theatre has taken Sanjay Pendse to all parts of India and also elsewhere in the world. He is enterprising and willing to take risks that have tested his mettle on many an occasion. In India, he has performed in places like Leh-Ladakh to Andaman-Nicobar Isles -- and earned plaudits that come only rarely to most. In adult theatre, he has earned a place of honour for himself, but enjoys children’s theatre most. “Working with kids, I never allow my temper to rise. Kids are really receptive to ideas -- if taken into confidence. With adults, however, if they are slack, then I show my temper. But there is nothing as beautiful as working with children,” he says. Pendse choose not to write children’s plays etc, but enjoys working other people’s scripts. “Children’s theatre is a theatre of bliss. Kids have a simple way of thinking. In their thought, the villain always loses.

 

The kids also have altogether different personal vibes. You sense those and the whole experience changes its tone and tenor. The little ones also show an infinite capacity to pick up fine nuances of acting and direction -- which many times adults may not show.,”Pendse adds. Yes, Sanjay Pendse agrees, Marathi theatre movement in Nagpur has slowed down. But such stages come and pass, he adds. “The problem is that in Vidarbha, there are no good theatres or places to perform good plays. ‘Zadipatti’ theatre has its own culture and own dynamics -- which theatre elsewhere just cannot emulate. Much work may be needed to give a real push to theatre movement in the region,” he insists. As ‘Bal Ranjan’ completes 50 years and ‘Ranjan Kala Mandir’ completes 75 years since inception, the region’s theatre movement has arrived at an important turning point. There is hope -- and also promise -- in the air that things will look up and offer bright scope for theatre community to perform to the heart’s content, Sanjay Pendse concludes.