Actors Jacqueline Fernandez and Saiee Manjrekar were among the many well-known faces who attended the premiere of Mahesh Manjrekar’s much-awaited Hindi play Animal at the Tata Theatre on Saturday night.Moments before stepping on stage, the actor-director admitted to feeling the pressure of opening night. “I don’t have butterflies in my stomach right now… I have dragons!!!” he said. “I feel all theatre artists should have that tension. Overconfidence always brings things down. This is one show I’ve wanted to do for a long time… and I just hope I succeed because it is not an easy play.”The premiere turned into a gripping theatrical evening, with Manjrekar delivering a powerful performance that kept the audience engaged for nearly two hours. The play is presented by AGP World and produced by theatre impresario Ashvin Gidwani. Written, directed and performed by Manjrekar, Animal is an intense one-man play that explores the slow erosion of the human spirit in the pursuit of ambition.At the centre of the narrative is Dattu, played by Manjrekar — a young man from a small town near Pandharpur who arrives in Mumbai chasing dreams of stardom. What begins as belief in the city and in himself gradually turns into a struggle for survival.Speaking about the play, Manjrekar described it as “a cartoonist’s take on life in the city.” “Thousands of people come to Mumbai because they believe it is the city of dreams,” he said. “But for every person who becomes successful here, there are countless others whose dreams shatter and turn into nightmares. This play is a tribute to everyone who comes to Mumbai to make a career or earn a living. It is a large-hearted city… but even a city has its limits.”Layered with satire, the play also weaves in observations on the political, financial, geopolitical and socio-cultural fabric of the country. Pop culture references, insider jokes about the film industry and witty nods to life in Mumbai drew enthusiastic responses from the audience. In a surprising twist, Manjrekar also sang and danced to multiple songs during the performance.Several personalities attended the premiere, including actors Siddharth Jadhav, Anusha Dandekar and Sumedh Mudgalkar. Manjrekar’s daughter Gauri Ingavale and son Satya Manjrekar were also present, while former Indian cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar attended with his wife Manali. For Saiee Manjrekar, watching her father perform was an emotional moment. “It was amazing,” she said. “I have been hearing about this project all my life. It’s his dream project. To see him, at this age, put in so much energy into a one-man show is such a proud moment for me. It’s incredibly inspiring.”After nearly nine years of discussion and preparation, Animal has finally reached the stage. The evening ended with a standing ovation as Manjrekar thanked his team. The play will next be staged on March 29 at the Sophia Bhabha Auditorium in Breach Candy.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source timesofindia.indiatimes.com ’
