To attract the audiences, many of the Sangeet Nataks used to prefix the word Sangeet before their actual name.At 11, Raghunandan began his formal study of music in Mumbai under the tutelage of the late Pandit Vasantrao Kulkarni. Jaymala Shiledar (1926-2013) - Jaymala, her husband Jayaram and daughters Kirti and Lata kept Sangeet natak alive during the lean period of 1960s to 1990s.Annasaheb Kirloskar who founded the Sangeet Natakas also offered other famous plays like Sangeet Saubhadra and Ramrajyaviyog.īal Gandharva's Gandharva Natak Mandali Vasudeorao Dongre's Dongre Mandali Pandoba Gurav Yavateshwarkar's Waikar Sangeet Mandali Janubhau Nimkar and Keshavrao Bhosale's Swadesh-Hita-Chintak Mandali, which evolved into Lalit-Kaladarsha Mandali and Master Dinanath's Balwant Natak Mandali were the other main performing companies which were formed in Maharashtra.Trials of bringing light music can be seen through plays like Moruchi Mavshi. DeclineĪs the Sangeet Natakas mainly used Indian classical singing forms in them, not many artists could perform well to hold the attention of the audiences. Draupadi was then synonymous with the oppressed common Indian masses. Kichak Vadh compared the Britishers with Kichak, an evil character from Mahabharata who tried to dishonour Draupadi. Few dramas, like Kichak Vadh, even agitated the British rulers to the extent that they were banned. Sangeet Sharada, for example, by portraying the feelings of a teenage girl to be married to a widower in his late seventies, brought out a social message. With popularity & success, experimentation started on stage with abandoning mythological themes and bringing social issues to audiences. They did not cover the complete epics but were limited to only small stories in them. In the blooming times, Sangeet Natakas were mainly based on mythological stories of Mahabharata or Ramayana which would hence easily connect with the masses. With British Raj then existing in India, Sangeet Natakas were compared with the Operas and thus local Marathi Indians found synonymous recreation.
The new trend of Sangeet Natakas caught up with the popularity quite quickly. They consisted of a mix of Hindustani and Carnatic classical music, and lighter music. Kirloskar included 209 musical pieces in his Shaakuntal of 7 acts. It was the first musical play on Marathi stage.īut only when Balwant Pandurang Kirloskar (popularly known as Annasaheb Kirloskar) staged his first musical play Shaakuntal on Octoin Pune did the trend of Sangeet Natak really start. But the integration of music in the dramas took place quite late in 1879 when play writer and producer Trilokekar presented his musical play Nal-Damayanti (नल-दमयंती). The first public performance on Marathi stage was of the play Seeta Swayamvar (सीता स्वयंवर) by Vishnudas Bhave in 1843. The Sangeet Natak's originated in sangli by Vishnudas Bhave. They are popular for use of Indian classical music. Sangeet Natak start with praise of Lord Natraja which is called as Naandi (नांदी) or Mangalaacharan (मंगलाचरण) or Suchakpad (सूचकपद) usually the famous one "Panchatunda Nararundamaldhar" from Sangeet Shakuntal. Sangeet Natakas played a vital role in the development of Marathi theater and thus the Marathi cinema as well as Indian film industry. In a manner, they are very much similar to Musicals. As the name suggests, this form of drama combines prose as well as poetry in form of songs to convey the story. Sangeet Natak in Marathi language literally means Musical Drama.