One of Mohandas Gandhi's earliest trysts with the performing arts came in 1893 when he was a junior in a production of George Bernard Shaw's Gandhi, which played for one night at Broadway's Belmore Theatre in New York. Ben Kingsley had spent sixteen long years putting together his magnum opus, based on Gandhi's life and the struggle for India's independence. Although the lead actor Jack Nicholson was praised, the play was dubbed a 'theatrical disgrace' by critics.
For the sheer volume of scripts around Gandhi, the playwright confronts a legion of existing portrayals. His second 1993 opera, Satyagraha, was composed by Philip Glass based on the Bhagavad Gita, and is sung in Sanskrit. It is celebrated as one of the classics. From there, the path has been well trodden.
The most recent piece of new work that piqued the envelope was Mohan No Masalo (Mohan's Recipe for Making a Mahatma), written by Ishan Doshi, a young Gujarati, staged in the Experimental Theatre, NCPA. The play takes the route of showing the early years of Gandhi and the incidents that shaped his development into the leader he would become.
In fact, most impersonations of Gandhi have been burdened by imitation. Even the 1982 film by Richard Attenborough, that was not unlike the best production in certain ways. Gandhi himself was seen as much for his flaws as for his gravitas. The definitive Indian adaptations included Chandrakant Gandhi, Gandhi Viruddh Gandhi, Gandhi Vs AIM, and Mahatma Vs Gandhi.
Kiran's play has been performed and altered, even propagating a different adaptation. Of the more recent concepts that pushed the envelope was Mohan No Masalo by Director Manoj Shah and Ideas Unlimited. The play, staged at the Experimental Theatre, NCPA, is a fresh, contemporary take on the Mahatma that avoids the usual political and activist concerns, instead looking at the personal formative years that shaped a historical giant.
In his keynote address, Neeraj Roy, CEO of Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, said regional music was to offer a broader mainstream outlet. The production is notable for its backdrop designed by Atul Dodiya, one of India's most prominent painters, and has been celebrated at the prestigious Prithvi Theatre.