Sangeet Manapmaan, the Marathi musical film based on the sangeet natak (musical play) of the same name, is to be released on January 10, 2025. This will be a milestone, as the original play, starring the marvellous Bal Gandharva, was first performed in 1911, marking 114 years of the living legacy of a Marathi theatre tradition--a thrilling achievement in itself. The film, directed by Subodh Bhave and produced by Jio Studios, has music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. When I got an invite for the music launch of the film Sangeet Manapmaan (pronounced Maan-Apmaan) last Thursday, I had to take Amma, Indu Shedde, now 97.

Amma is a huge fan of Bal Gandharva (1888-1967), born Narayan Shripad Rajhans, famous as a cross-dressing, singing, theatre icon, playing women’s roles in more than 25 original plays and 5,000 stage shows over 40 years. Amma remembers watching the original sangeet natak Sangeet Manapmaan, directed by KP Khadilkar, as a schoolgirl, in Mallikarjun Theatre, Hubli. She used to watch out for Bal Gandharva’s saris, sari blouse patterns and jewellery like a hawk. I also have a deep connection to Bal Gandharva, having done the English sub-titling for Ravi Jadhav’s brilliant Marathi film Bal Gandharva (Amazon Prime; they replaced my subtitles with Google translate-level mash, though, uff!).