Shubhada Varadkar
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Productions

Chitrangadha

A cross-cultural adaptation of Tagore's play Chitra, blending Odissi with Marathi theatre and music.

Shubhada Varadkar with both arms raised overhead in an Odissi pose.

Combines Rabindra Sangeet with Marathi translations of Tagore's poetry, enhanced with shadow play, bridging the cultural traditions of Bengal and Maharashtra.

On its surface the dance drama is a love story: the exiled Kuru prince Arjun and the warrior princess Chitrangada. Beneath that, the story carries an undercurrent of conflicting emotions between the princess’s two outward forms — one manly and warrior-like, the other effeminate. The dichotomy between them, and a man’s eventual acceptance of the inner beauty of a woman, are the universal themes the production works through.

Form
Theatre / dance
Collaborators
Written adaptation Gangaram Gavankar; lyrics Pravin Davne; theatrical direction Laxmikant Karpe; assistant director Sunil Narvekar; music Vijay Tambe and Pradipto Sengupta; singers Sanjeevni Bhelande, Mandar Aapte and Sharmishta Basu; lighting Ajay Kasurde; artists Pankaj Vishnu, Amol Bavdekar, Yayati Rajwade and Shubhada Varadkar
Recognition
Supported by the Tagore Commemoration Grant Scheme (Government of India and Government of Maharashtra); staged across Maharashtra and at the Natyarang Festival, Panaji, Goa

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