The singer returns to the stage and repeats a part of the sameperformance for the pleasure of his audience. However on the tiatr stage theinterpretation of the term ‘encore’ has been completely misinterpreted, and inthe guise of ‘encore’ valuable time of the majority of the spectators iswasted.
As there are many artistes on the tiatr stage particularly thesingers who take pride in getting encored several times, very few tiatrs endwithin a period of three hours and I have also witnessed tiatrs running foreven four hours. The method used by singers to get repeated encores is verysimple. Whenever there is an encore, the singer comes and every time changesthe last verse or one or two last sentences which is sufficient to cause aminority of the audience to clap and whistle. The singer too is readily back on-stagewith different lyrics. The encoring ends only when the singer repeats theoriginal part of the song.
In the past I have observed tremendous encores for late AlfredRose for his memorable songs. He usually only repeated the last verse for thepleasure of his fans. However, changing the last verse or one or two sentencesof the last verse when encored was started, by the late M. Boyer in the 1970s.He was the only artist at the time that composed the last verse or added one ortwo sentences on the spur of the moment when encored.
Our tiatr directors must move with the time. Take for example theMarathi stage. Their dramas used to cross three hours in the past when thedrama consisted of three acts. In the present times they produce two act dramaswhich end within two or two and half hours. Every one of us witnesses Hindicinemas. Few years back the duration of a Hindi cinema was never less thanthree hours. Today a Hindi movie ends within two or two and half hours.
It is high time that tiatr producers and directors realised theimportance of time in the modern era. Tiatr lovers who patronize our tiatrs donot have time to waste. I feel the directors must act to curb new additions tothe songs once encored. In order to be successful, the foremost factor willhave to be the drastic reduction of the duration of performances. Such attemptswill definitely prove very fruitful to take tiatr to wider audience in times tocome.
