Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe
Encyclopedia
Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe (Silence! The Court Is in Session) is a Marathi
play written by playwright Vijay Tendulkar
and first performed in 1967 . The play was written in 1963, for Rangayan, a theatre group, though it was performed much later.
The play was based on a 1956 short-story, ‘Die Panne’ (Traps) by Swiss playwright, Friedrich Dürrenmatt
.
Actor-director, Om Shivpuri
, directed the Hindi translation of the play as, ‘Khamosh! Adaalat Jaari Hai’. The play had his wife actress, Sudha Shivpuri
, in the lead role, and is still considered an important production in the theatre history of India .
Award’ for drama in 1970 and "Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
(National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama) Award" in 1970 for playwriting.
, directed a Marathi
film based on the play, with the same name in 1971. Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe, started the ‘New Cinema’ Movement in Marathi cinema
, and is still considered one of India’s finest films .
It marked the debut of actors Amrish Puri
and Amol Palekar
, and also of Govind Nihalani
for whom this was his first film as a full-fledged cinematographer; till then, he had worked an assistant to Guru Dutt
’s cinematographer V.K. Murthy Govind Nihalani also co-produced the film with Satyadev Dubey
Lastly, this was also Vijay Tendulkar
's first screenplay, who went on to write landmark films like Nishant, Aakrosh, Ardh Satya and Umbartha
.
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
play written by playwright Vijay Tendulkar
Vijay Tendulkar
Vijay Tendulkar was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi...
and first performed in 1967 . The play was written in 1963, for Rangayan, a theatre group, though it was performed much later.
The play was based on a 1956 short-story, ‘Die Panne’ (Traps) by Swiss playwright, Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Friedrich Dürrenmatt was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-garde dramas, philosophically deep crime novels, and often macabre satire...
.
Translations
The play has since been translated into some sixteen languages in India and abroad, B.B.C. showed its English version, filmed by Satyadev DubeySatyadev Dubey
Satyadev Dubey is an Indian theatre director, actor, playwright, screenwriter, and film actor and director. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1971....
Actor-director, Om Shivpuri
Om Shivpuri
Om Shivpuri was an Indian theatre actor-director and character actor in Hindi films.A National School of Drama, New Delhi alumni, Om Shivpuri became the first chief of the National School of Drama Repertory Company and one of its actors; he later founded an important theatre group of its era, in...
, directed the Hindi translation of the play as, ‘Khamosh! Adaalat Jaari Hai’. The play had his wife actress, Sudha Shivpuri
Sudha Shivpuri
Sudha Shivpuri is a noted TV actress, who is most famous for her role as 'Baa' in the Hindi TV serial Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi .-Early life:...
, in the lead role, and is still considered an important production in the theatre history of India .
Plot
In it we find a group of teachers who were planning to stage a play in a village. It so turned out that one of the members of the cast did not show up. A local stagehand was asked to replace him. A rehearsal was arranged and a mock trial was staged to make him understand the court procedure. A mock charge of infanticide was leveled against Miss Benare, one of the members of the cast. Then the pretend-play or game suddenly turned into a grim charge and it emerged from the witness that Miss Benare did kill an illegitimate child by Prof. Damle, the missing member of the cast.Critical Acclaim
Its playwright, Vijay Tendulkar, got national recognition in the form of the ‘Kamaladevi ChattopadhyayKamaladevi Chattopadhyay
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was an Indian social reformer, freedom fighter, and most remembered for her contribution to Indian independence movement, for being the driving force behind the renaissance of Indian handicrafts, handlooms, and theatre in post-Independence India, and for upliftment of the...
Award’ for drama in 1970 and "Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. The award consists since 2003 of Rs. 50,000, a citation, an angavastram , and a tamrapatra...
(National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama) Award" in 1970 for playwriting.
Film adaptation
Noted Marathi playwright and stage director, Satyadev DubeySatyadev Dubey
Satyadev Dubey is an Indian theatre director, actor, playwright, screenwriter, and film actor and director. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1971....
, directed a Marathi
Marathi cinema
Marathi cinema refers to films produced in the Marathi language in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is the oldest and pioneer film industry in India...
film based on the play, with the same name in 1971. Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe, started the ‘New Cinema’ Movement in Marathi cinema
Marathi cinema
Marathi cinema refers to films produced in the Marathi language in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is the oldest and pioneer film industry in India...
, and is still considered one of India’s finest films .
It marked the debut of actors Amrish Puri
Amrish Puri
Amrish Singh Puri , ; 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005 was an iconic theater and film actor from India, who was a key player in the Indian theater movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad...
and Amol Palekar
Amol Palekar
Amol Palekar is an Indian actor of the 1970s and a director of Hindi and Marathi cinema.-Theater career:Palekar began in Marathi experimental theatre with Satyadev Dubey, and later started his own group, Aniket, in 1972 [citation needed]...
, and also of Govind Nihalani
Govind Nihalani
Govind Nihalani is an Indian director, cinematographer, and also a screenwriter and film producer. He has been directing Hindi films since the late seventies, and worked in the television medium.- Biography :...
for whom this was his first film as a full-fledged cinematographer; till then, he had worked an assistant to Guru Dutt
Guru Dutt
Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone , popularly known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian film director, producer and actor. He is often credited with ushering in the golden era of Hindi cinema...
’s cinematographer V.K. Murthy Govind Nihalani also co-produced the film with Satyadev Dubey
Lastly, this was also Vijay Tendulkar
Vijay Tendulkar
Vijay Tendulkar was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi...
's first screenplay, who went on to write landmark films like Nishant, Aakrosh, Ardh Satya and Umbartha
Umbartha (film)
Umbartha , is a Marathi film made in 1982. The film is directed and coproduced by Jabbar Patel. Smita Patil for her performance in it won Marathi Rajya Chitrapat Puraskar for Best Actress...
.
Film Cast
- Arvind Deshpande
- Sulbha Deshpande
- Amrish PuriAmrish PuriAmrish Singh Puri , ; 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005 was an iconic theater and film actor from India, who was a key player in the Indian theater movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad...
- Amol PalekarAmol PalekarAmol Palekar is an Indian actor of the 1970s and a director of Hindi and Marathi cinema.-Theater career:Palekar began in Marathi experimental theatre with Satyadev Dubey, and later started his own group, Aniket, in 1972 [citation needed]...
- Eknath Hattagadi
Further reading
- Silence! The Court Is in Session (Three Crowns). Priya Adarkar (Translator), Oxford University Press, 1979. ISBN 0195603133.
- Collected Plays in Translation: Kamala, Silence! the Court Is in Session, Sakharam Binder, the Vultures, Encounter in Umbugland, Ghashiram Kotwal, a Friend's Story, Kanyadaan. New Delhi, 2003, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195662091.