By Tirthankar Mitra
People often do not find the profession they are suited to. But when eminent theatre director, Ebrahim Alkazi spotted a young girl essaying the role of Desdemona in a stage adaptation of Othello, he asked the upcoming actress to join his drama group, Theatre Group. From this moment Vijaya Jaywant’s life and career moved away far from square pegs finding themselves into round holes.
Time flew and the slip of a girl became Vijaya Mehta, the doyen of Marathi stage. Her career graph moved in a steep elliptical curve till she passed away in Mumbai on June 30 at the age of 91 due to old age complications.
Arguably not the central protagonist in Othello, the budding actress put her heart into the role. She encapsulated a woman’s tragedy. She pleaded with her jealous and murderous husband even in her dying moments.
Small wonder, Alkazi’s keen eyes spotted Vijaya’s talent. She was then a third year student at Wilson’s College. Later she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. The trained actor was also a part of the socialist movement, Rashtriya Seva Dal.
Mehta helped open up the imagination of artists across the country. It was to her credit and a few others that some of the best theatre practices from around the world were tried out in India and vastly enriched it’s stage.
Working in a newly independent country was of great help to put ideas into practice.. There were no roadblocks which stymies the path of creativity for those who seek to walk down the road less travelled these days.
Small wonder, she gave a new shape to Marathi theatre. She became the doyen of realism and experimentation. Arguably, no accolade is sufficient for her. Her works speak for herself. Her stage production, Ek Shunya Bajirao is a landmark in contemporary Indian theatre. It changed the conception of a hero.
The story revolves round a theatre group performing a mystery drama. A nondescript actor named Bajirao watches from the audience and makes profound and mocking comments. He is dressed in an ill-fitting suit. He is armed with a twisted stick, the anti-thesis of a hero till then portrayed as an immaculately dressed person representing the goodness of human nature.
The search for the divine in beastly tendencies in a human came to light in this play. It is among those stage productions which helped Indian theatre come of age. Mehta is credited with introducing Bertold Brecht in Marathi theatre. The Caucasian Chalk Circle is introduced as Ajab Nyay Vartulacha. But Mehta did not rest on her laurels. She continued to reach out and her efforts enthralled her audience.
Collaborating with German theatre director Fritz Benneewitz, Bhasa’s Mudrarakshahas was staged. by Mehta. It was a traditional performance with German actors. Always on the vanguard of the theatre movement, Mehta helped overseas actors conduct workshops in India. Among them were English theatre director and film maker Peter Brook and Eugene Barba from Denmark.
Vijaya Mehta was in her element on both the stage and in the screen. Her performances in the films Party, Kalyug and Shakuntalam to name a few prove her class on screen. Her directorial ventures, on the other hand in Rao Saheb and Pestonjee are pointers that her virtuosity was not restricted to the stage. She won Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for excellence in direction.
For the film Pestonjee, Mehta was awarded the National Film award for best supporting actress. But her heart lay in stage being one of the founder members of the theatre group, Rangayan with Vijay Tendulkar, Arvind Deshpande and Dr Sriram Lagoo. She left an indelible mark on theatre and cinema as an actor. “Desdemona” has indeed come a long way.
American actor Daniel Dafoe once said “Great theatre is about challenging how we think and encourage us about imagining a world we aspire to” Vijaya Mehta’s life and works was a living example of this saying. (IPA Service)
