Sawal – Jawab

Marathi Musical Play

An NCPA Presentation in collaboration with Avkash

Sawal–Jawab (which literally means Question–Answer) is a musical play rooted in Maharashtra’s folk performance traditions — Tamasha, Lavani, Powada, Shahiri, Gavalan and Sawal-Jawab — reimagined for the contemporary stage.

It revolves around a dialogue between Kalawati Bai, a young, reformist folk artist, and a Personal Assistant to a Minister who visits her after her performance faces violent censorship. Through biting humour, music, and poetry, the play explores questions offree speech, censorship, misinformation, gender equality, and the purpose of art in modern India.

Each ‘Jawab’ from Kalawati unfolds not as a speech but as a live folk musical performance, making the piece both an engaging spectacle and a deeply thought-provoking conversation.

Written and directed by Girish Datar, Apurva Kulkarni

Cast: Sukanya Gurav, Sanket Joshi

Percussionist: Samadhan Ranshoor

Harmonium: Saee Joshi

Singers: Abhishek Shinde, Girish Datar

Light Design: Sanket Parkhe

Light Operators: Nimish Kanitkar

Sound Operator: Anurag Girdhar

Backstage: Niketan Nandurbare, Anant Satalkar

Special Thanks for the support and initial production: Maharashtra Cultural Center Pune, Ashok Da Ranade Archives (ADRA)

Box Office now open.