Advocate Rajiv Shinkre’s latest play ‘Gopi- Kuzner De Grande’, reflects the theme of humanity and being good
DIANA FERNANDES
As a lawyer, Rajiv Shinkre meets many people and comes across different situations that inspire him to write plays, something that he is fond of. In the past, he has written eight plays which have mostly been in a lighter vein. However, his latest Konkani play ‘Gopi- Kuzner De Grande’, touches on humanity and goodness.
“The inspiration for the story came to me after the COVID-19 pandemic, when there was uncertainty in everyone’s minds, increased thefts in people’s homes, and just a general worry all over. In my line of work, there were many incidents where I heard stories of internal conflicts and quarrels at home, which I’ve put into the story,” he says.
The play focuses on Gopi who is not only a cook but dabbles in many other fields. He is an expert on yoga, oil therapy, Bharatnatyam, and music and has worked with many big names. His multi-faceted personality brings him to the house of Bappa.
Bappa’s home is very chaotic with a lot of grumbling and fights among the family members all the time. But Gopi’s entry to the household brings about a joy and peace with the family members singing and dancing merrily.
But just as the household revels in joy, Gopi suddenly disappears from the scene and leaves with questions. It rests on the fact that despite having troubles of his own, Gopi has the urge and intent to do good for others as well. The rest, Shinkre says, is to be watched and experienced for oneself.
“I wanted to convey through the play that even though Gopi had personal sorrows and troubles, he tries to do good to others and brings out a humanitarian aspect to life,” says Shinkre.
The actors who form a part of ‘Gopi- Kuzner De Grande’ include Chandu Pai Kane, Sushant Kamat, Ashish Bale, Prasad Shinkre, Harsha Hegde, Reena Panandikar, Rucha Kare, Nanda Kare, Shweta Prabhugaonkar, Rajiv Shinkre, Sankalp Prabhu, Rajat Hegde, Nagnath Shanbhag, and Prasanna Acharya.
A special feature of the play is that its songs were written by Rajiv Shinkre and Prasad Shinkre with music composed by Prasad Shinkre, Mahesh Pai Kane providing background music and Bhushan Shirwaikar arranging the lights.
The play was recently performed at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao, to a full house. It was previously performed at Zambaulim and Rivona with a possible show later this month in North Goa.
Shinkre says plans to turn the play into a film with the same cast are also taking shape.
“We are currently in the process of finalising the location of an old house, but we hope to have it wrapped up by the end of the month. We’ve got financing and things are moving fast,” he says.
