THEPLAY ON YOUR MARX...

Karl Marx came to Kalbadevi four years ago. Back then he only spoke Gujarati. Now he speaks a mix of Hindi and English as well. But despite his linguistic advancements, the richly bearded activist and philosopher, who looks at the world sternly from a single photograph, still finds himself as awkwardly positioned in the financial capital. His time is mostly spent clearing his name from activities done in his name and, of course, figuring out ways to make workers lose their chains. He does this each time he reappears on stage, as a character played by and in a hilarious play directed by Manoj Shah.

“Till much later in life, I was not aware of Karl Marx,” admits Shah. “I found the idea to place him in a city like Mumbai today, fascinating. It is kind of a norm now to think that only those who have money create wealth Who better than Marx to

Satchit Puranik (right)

point out that it is not true?”

The play, an adaptation of Howard Zinn’s 1999 American work, Marx in Soho, called for a lot of research for Puranik. “I was rediscovering the writings and life of a person who had such a great impact on the world,” he says. “It was interesting to discover that Marx had such a difficult life and was even forced out of his country.”

Whether you’re a haves or haves not, Shah’s play will get you thinking. “It was a great feeling when some teachers and scholars told me how the play conveys the philosophy of Marx better than they are able to do in a classroom,” Puranik says.

There has been some criticism from scholars too, who believe the play doesn’t talk much about Marx’s ideologies. “This is not an essay,” says Shah. “My goal is to keep my audience entertained. That’s when we canthink about his philosophies”