Ghashiram Kotwal

Ghashiram Kotwal is a Marathi play written by playwright Vijay Tendulkar in 1972 as a response to the rise of a local political party, Shiv Sena, in Maharashtra. The play is a political satire, written as historical drama. Based on the life of Nana Phadnavis (1741–1800), one of the prominent ministers in the court of the Peshwa of Pune. Its theme is how men in power give rise to ideologies to serve their purposes, and later destroy them when they become useless. It was first performed on 16 December 1972, by the Progressive Drama Association in Pune. Jabbar Patel's production of the play in 1973 is considered a classic in Modern Indian Theatre.

History

The first show of this play was done on 16 December 1972 at Bharat Natya Mandir in Pune. The play saw a huge controversy and success in the following years. It made the trip to Europe in the year 1980. Later in the year 1986, the group also done plays in US and Canada. They also travelled to Russia, East Germany, Hungary etc.