Actor Sambhaji Sasane, who has worked across Hindi and Marathi cinema, is back on stage with ‘Love & Lavani’. The production brings him together with celebrated lavani artists, including Shakuntala Bai Nagarkar, Gauri Jadhav and Pushpatai Satarkar, while exploring the lives and struggles behind the folk art form. For Sasane, working with lavani legend Shakuntala Bai Nagarkar has been a major highlight. “Shakutai is the heart of this production for me,” he says. “She’s a legend, and I never imagined I would one day share a stage with her. Even now, I often stand in the wings just to watch her perform.”He adds, “You don’t really learn from a legend by acting alongside them. You learn by quietly watching them, taking in everything they do.” The play pushed Sasane into unfamiliar territory, with the actor playing multiple characters and exploring Bharud, lavani and songadya. “I said yes precisely because it intimidated me. The projects that scare me the most are usually the ones that teach me the most.”While ‘Love & Lavani’ is rooted in music and romance, Sasane says it also explores the lives of women behind the art form. “Most people only ever see the performance itself. They rarely know what happens behind it, or the struggles these women have lived through.” The actor says theatre continues to challenge him in ways films cannot. “Theatre makes me vulnerable, and that is exactly why I keep coming back to it. Every performance happens in front of a living audience. There is no hiding, no fixing mistakes later, and no second chances.”He sums up the difference between the two mediums: “Films give you another take if something does not work. Theatre gives you only one shot at telling the truth. Once that moment passes, it is simply gone.”For Sasane, that unpredictability is what makes live performance special. “You’re walking a tightrope with no safety net. The possibility that you might fall is exactly what makes the walk exciting, for the actor and for the audience watching.”He adds, “You are not simply performing for people. You’re creating something with them at that very moment. Every show becomes its own thing, and that’s the real beauty of live theatre. Once it’s over, it can never be recreated in exactly the same way again.”
