Now, an MNS-backed play shows Raj as a true Thackeray

Mumbai: Ahead of the BMC polls, the fight for Bal Thackeray’s legacy has further intensified with his nephew and leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Raj Thackeray being projected in a new play as the true legatee of the founder of the Shiv Sena.

The play, Balasahebancha Raj (Balasaheb’s Raj), spins a tale of politics and power, family ties and rebellion. The play’s first show is to be staged at the Ravindra Natya Mandir on January 23rd which coincides with Balasaheb’s birth anniversary. Subsequent shows will be staged in other parts of Mumbai and Thane, say leaders of the MNS which is bankrolling the production.

At a time when Uddhav Thackeray is struggling to retain control of the Shiv Sena and Eknath Shinde is running away with the party (his faction is called Balasaahebanchi’s Shiv Sena) Raj Thackeray, who had modelled himself on his uncle and enjoyed a close relationship with him until his rebellion, is pitching himself as the real inheritor of the Thackeray brand of politics.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, the author of the play Anikmet Bandarkar said, “We are portraying Raj as the real heir of Balasaheb. He has inherited several of his traits. Like Balasaheb, Raj is a good cartoonist and has great oratorial skills, he has also taken forth Balasaheb’s agenda of the Marathi manoos and his style of politics. Due to unfortunate events, Raj had to part ways with the Shiv Sena, but even after that he often spoke to Balasaheb over phone.”

The play is financed by Pramod Gandhi, the Guhagar sampark pramukh of MNS and produced by Ganesh Kadam who runs the MNS’s Dombivali unit. Bandarkar said that he was guided in the writing of the play by Raj’s associates, Bala Nandgaonkar and Raju Patil. While Raj Thackeray’s character is essayed by actor Praful Acharekar, Bal Thackeray’s role is played by Sachin Naware.

Raj Thackeray had quit the Shiv Sena following a power tussle with cousin Uddhav and formed his own party, MNS, in 2006. Since then, he has been targeting the traditional voter base of the Shiv Sena without much success. In recent times he has publicly supported the Shinde-Fadnavis government. The play is one of the many tactics being employed by his opponents to dilute Uddhav Thackeray’s image as the true inheritor of Balasaheb Thackeray and as the leader of the Marathi folk.

In the past semi-fictionalized narratives have greatly helped Raj and Shinde in challenging Uddhav Thackeray. In 2009, the film Me Shivaraje Bhosale Boltoy, starring Mahesh Manjrekar had helped shore up support for Raj while last year the release of the film Dhamveer, a bio-pic of Shinde’s mentor Anand Dighe, built up Dighe’s image and laid the ground for Shinde’s rebellion.