Dear Bapu,

a stage event based on the correspondence of mahatma gandhi with pundit nehru.

conceived and researched by kamla chowdhry
direction mohan maharishi
cast sabina mehta, sunit tandon and bhaskar ghosh

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I was first acquainted with this concept of multi media stage presentation in Bombay, it was an evening to celebrate the poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz – sheeshon ka maseeha organized by IPTA. MS Sathyu had designed the show, and it was quite a memorable experience.

The second time we did a similar show, Aao Twist Karien.

And now Dear “zero editing” Bapu.

Let me explain.


The first question which bothers me is what were the actors portraying? Was it Sunit Tandon reading Nehru’s letters, and Bhaskar Ghosh reading Gandhi’s? Or were they Gandhi and Nehru reading their own letters? It is a very thin line.

Here this question remained unanswered. In Aao Twist Karien, the actors were clearly made to portray the characters. A decision with which I still differ. I told the director then also, and I reiterate, with the actors assuming the characters, the meat of the narrative got left out. Costumes attract more attention than dialogues. Dear Bapu’s silence was in that sense a shade more evolved. The message was in the foreground all throughout.


The second question is Sabina Mehta. I have no problems with her abilities, I think she was very good. But what was she? A researcher acting as the narrator (sutradhaar) who cuts across times, interacting with history, yet based in the present. Confusing.

And then of course the editing, rather the lack of it. There never was a build-up. It kept spraying all over. I feel that if the linearity of the narrative was broken, and if elements of flash back were introduced, the retention of audience post the intermission would have been higher.


The film clips which were used comprised of only dissovled shots. Now I have my notions upon such use. I believe it tends to convey the passage of time, along with a sense of passivity, which was in any case already present, thanks to the choice of sticking by the chronology.

And finally like both the women say – anything over 90 minutes needs serious examination!

Tareef - excellent research and very good performances by the cast. Bhaskar Ghosh with that frail tinge in his voice was amazing.