Sudhir Bhat

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'Sudhir Bhat was an Indian Marathi play producer. He was the founder member of the famous Theatre group "Suyog".^[1]

Bhat is one of the few commercially successful Marathi play producers. He showcased his plays for the Marathi diaspora in the United States. He continued with this project for around three decades, during which he produced over 80 plays, which accounted for 17,000 shows. Eight of his plays crossed the 1000-show mark. He holds the record for producing the highest number of plays in a career. His company went on to stage several box-office hits.^[2][3]

Bhat formed an organization named "Suyog" along with Gopal Algeri on 1 January 1985. He set an all-time record for producing the highest number of plays produced under one banner in Marathi theater. He came into the limelight with the play "Moruchi Mavashi". This was a major hit at that time. Vijay Chavan, Pradeep Patwardhan and Prashant Damle were some of the new actors produced in this play. He took the Marathi play outside India. His plays made shows in the UK, United States, and Europe and gained enormous popularity over there. High production values and the right marketing were key to his success. The Marathi theater industry saw a downturn in the year 1997. His plays in the US were a major boost during that time.

He was also criticized by many for making too many business transactions in the Marathi play allocation dates. He made losses in many plays but he did not leave or change the business of producing the plays.^[4]

As the head of the Natya Nirmata Sangh (producers' association), he was the cynosure of many controversies. Many producers labeled him a 'contractor-producer', criticizing his repertoire of commercially successful actors, particularly the faces that he usually banked on. Those include Prashant Damle, Vikram Gokhale, Kavita Lad, Dilip Prabhavalkar. He was absolutely unapologetic about his brand of theatre.

He even drew flak for alleged unfair allotment of performance slots in Mumbai's select auditoriums. Many contemporaries called him dictatorial and alleged he had infused a commercial spirit in theatre. They accused him of using his clout to gain prime slots. However, Bhat maintained he stood for quality theatre, good marketing and high production values. He said his theatre was a box-set proscenium parameter, with no pretense of an experimental intent.

Despite the barrage of criticism, his commercial success did bring a sparkle to Mumbai's theatre arts in the 90s, when none of the plays were doing well.

In spite of his economic orientation, Bhat deserves credit for some off-track plays that expanded the Marathi theatre cosmos. In 2003, he cast 75-year-old Shriram Lagoo in 'Mitra'. The play was about a resilient, ageing, upper caste widower, who befriends his female Dalit nurse, much to the indignation of his family. The play was stage 218 times, mostly to packed auditoriums. 'Mitra' received a rapturous response in places like Dubai. 'Gandhi Virudh Gandhi' was another bold attempt to portray the contentious relationship of Mahatma Gandhi and his son Harilal Gandhi.

But Bhat knew how to sell his plays. For instance, his production of PL Deshpande's life sketches 'Vyakti ani Valli' introduced the new generation to a masterpiece of humour. That the play banked on PL's glamour is a known fact.^[3]

On Thursday, 14 November 2013, he died of a heart attack at Hinduja hospital.^{[2] [5] [6]}