Bapulal Nayak (25 March 1879 – 4 December 1947) was an Indian stage actor, director and manager of the early Gujarati theatre. Born into a family of traditional folk theatre performers, he joined the theatre company Mumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali at a young age. His acting was well received in his initial roles. He was involved in stage planning and managing and later became a partner in the company. He rose to fame and acted in several successful plays with Jaishankar Bhojak 'Sundari', who played female roles opposite him. He acted in plays written by Mulshankar Mulani, Gajendrashnakar Pandya and Nrisinh Vibhakar. He wrote and directed several plays and eventually bought the theatre company. After a career lasting five decades, he retired after his company suffered heavy loss with the advent of the cinema.

Biography

Nayak was born in Gerita near Mehsana on 25 March 1879 and was named Narayan by his parents Bhabhaldas Khemchand Nayak and Narbhiben. He studied till the fifth standard in the Gujarati school in his native village Undhai. He was nicknamed Bapulal by his father. In Februatry 1890, at the age of eleven, he quit the family tradition of performing Bhavai (folk theatre) and farming, and started his stage career with Dayashankar Visanji Bhatt's Mumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali for a salary of three rupees per month. He was given a role of Jayant, son of Indra, in a play, Harishchandra (1890). He next appeared in Rajbeej (King's Progeny, 1891), a play written by Mulshankar Mulani specifically for him which premiered at the Geity Theatre in Bombay. It was successful. His performance as Mularaja in Mularaj Solanki (1895) was well received. In the next decade, he acted Ramcharitra (1989), Raman in Lakshadhipati-no Raman, Jayraj (1898) and other plays, as well as becoming involved in stage planning and the management of a theatre company. In 1899, he and Mulani became partners in the company, each holding a 6% share of the Mumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali. He also acted in the acclaimed play, Ajabkumari (1899), opposite female impersonator actor Jaishankar Bhojak 'Sundari' who had recently joined their company. The pair soon rose to fame and acted together in several successful plays including Saubhagya Sundari (Fortunate Sundari, 1901), Vikram Charitra (1901, directed by him), Dage Hasrat (1901), Jugal Jugari (Jugal the Gambler, 1903), Kamlata (1904), Sneh Sarita (1915), Madhubansari (1917). Around the end of the 19th century, he was guided by Mulshankar and Dayashankar Visanji. He learned direction from Sorabji Katrak. He trained many actors as well.

Nand-Batrisi (1906) was a first play written by him which was well received. He also wrote Chandrabhaga (1909), a farce entitled Navalsha Hirji (1909), Anandlahari (1919) and Saubhagya-no Sinh (1925). When Mulani's three plays failed consequently, he chose to stage nationalistic plays written by Nrisinh Vibhakar. These plays experimented with story and theme but enactment stayed unchanged. During this period, Mahatma Gandhi had arrived in India from South Africa and the Indian independence movement was gathering steam. He acquired Mumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali in April 1922.

Bapulal Nayak started directing his plays and started adapting literature into plays. He chose Ramanbhai Neelkanth's play Raino Parvat written in 1911 and staged it in 1926. The songs of the play were written by Rasiklal Parikh and four shows of it were staged. Later he staged four plays written by Champshi Udeshi, four plays written by Gajendrashankar Pandya as well as many Parsi theatre styled plays. Gajendrashankar Pandya's play College Kanya was staged by Bapulal and it created controversy due to some of its dialogue about females; Narsinhrao Divetia, Chandravadan Mehta and Hansa Jivraj Mehta led the public protests against the play.

With the advent of the cinema, the theatre started to lose its audience. Bapulal was forced to sell his company in 1938 due to it suffering heavy losses. In 1944, he tried to revive his company with the help of a financier. He retired after staging his last play Ladakvayo, written by Prafulla Desai, in 1946. He had acted in more than a hundred plays, directed forty seven plays and written six plays during his career. He also wrote some poems. He died on 4 December 1947 in Undhai near Mehsana, Baroda State.

Reception P. K. Nayyar, a columnist of Sanjvartaman daily of Bombay, called him "one of the best actors in the world" in 1917. Rasiklal Parikh, Chandravadan Mehta and Pragji Dosa have praised the excellence of his directing.

Stage + Acting career Date Title Role Writer Theatre company10 August 1889ShakuntalSarvadamanMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali9 August 1890HarishchandraJayantVishwanath Prabhuram VaidyaMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali22 January 1891RajbeejBeejMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali27 February 1892KundabalaChandMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali15 August 1892RasikmaniMohanNarabheshankar Manchharam VyasMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali2 December 1893Sundar VeniSundarlal –Mumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali3 November 1894PremkalaPremraiVijayshankar Kalidas BhattMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali27 April 1895Mevadno Pratapi ChandMokalVijayshankar Kalidas BhattMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali19 October 1895Mularaj SolankiMularajaVijayshankar Kalidas BhattMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali5 September 1896KarangheloBeejkhanMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali14 August 1897BarristerShankarMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali8 January 1898RamcharitraRamVijayshankar Kalidas BhattMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali23 April 1898Pushpasen PushpavatiPushpasen –Mumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali27 August 1898JayrajJayrajMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali8 July 1899TilakkumarTilakkumarVijayshankar Kalidas BhattMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali30 September 1899AjabkumariRandhirMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali16 December 1899Veer MandalPratapsinhMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali14 February 1900MohiniKalyandevVijayshankar Kalidas BhattMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali7 July 1900VikramcharitraRajratanMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali19 October 1901Saubhagya SundariSaubhagyaMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali26 August 1902Jugal JugariJugalMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali18 October 1904KamlataMeenketuMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali1906NandbatrisiVilochanBapulal NayakMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali1908Sangatno RangLalaji –Mumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali22 May 1909ChandrabhagaRatansinhBapulal NayakMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali3 November 1909Navalsha HeerjiNavalshaMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali17 December 1910VasantprabhaVasantsenMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali1911DevkanyaKishorMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali1912KrishnacharitraBaldevMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali31 January 1914PrataplakshmiPratapMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali28 February 1915Sangatna FalKantMulshankar MulaniMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali19 September 1915Sneh SaritaShenchandraNrisinh VibhakarMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali5 August 1916SudhachandraChandrakumarNrisinh VibhakarMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali28 July 1917MadhubansariMadhusudanNrisinh VibhakarMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali23 November 1918MeghmaliniMeghdootNrisinh VibhakarMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali23 August 1919AnandlahariLaharikantBapulal NayakMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali25 September 1920VishwaleelaVishwadevAmbashankar Harishankar UpadhyayMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali25 April 1925Saubhagyano SinhMansinhBapulal NayakMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali1926Madandh Mahila Yane NoorjahanSher AfghanJayshankar Vaghajibhai VyasMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali1926Kumali KaliPranjeevanShaydaMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali1927Jamanano RangDhanrajGajendrashankar Lalshankar PandyaMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali1928Tarunina TarangPadmakumarGajendrashankar Lalshankar PandyaMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali1928Kashmirnu PrabhatDevakarGajendrashankar Lalshankar PandyaMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali21 February 1929Kudaratno NyayKantilalGajendrashankar Lalshankar PandyaMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali29 March 1929Up-to-date MavaliSorabjiJoseph DavidMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali1929Swamibhakti Yane Baji Deshpande (Hindi)HeerojiMunshi Mohiyuddin NazaMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali27 January 1929KimiyagarShripatrai'Manasvi' Prantijwala (rewritten)Mumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali9 January 1930KuldeepakShantilalGajendrashankar Lalshankar PandyaMumbai Gujarati Natak MandaliJanuary 1931Kutil RajneetiShivajiGajendrashankar Lalshankar PandyaMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali23 January 1932KarmasanjogDharmadasMugatlal Pranjeevan OzaMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali1932Karyasiddhi (Hindi)Duple'Manasvi' Prantijwala (adaptation)Mumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali9 September 1933Kon Samrat?Bhimdev'Manasvi' Prantijwala (rewritten)Mumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali1934KirtivijayRatnapal'Manasvi' PrantijwalaMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali13 September 1934Jeenjarna ZankareRamsinhChampshi UdeshiMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali20 March 1935Mumbaini BadiSukhlajiJoseph DavidMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali1 June 1935Gheli GuniyalKanchanlalChampshi UdeshiMumbai Gujarati Natak MandaliJanuary 1936KiritkumarVijayvarmaManilal 'Pagal'Mumbai Gujarati Natak MandaliFebruary 1936NepolianFrancisManilal 'Pagal'Mumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali15 May 1937Shataranjna DavShripalChampshi UdeshiMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali7 August 1937Gareebna AnsuVarjabhushanChampshi UdeshiMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali19 November 1938Sukhi SansarBhanuprasadChampshi UdeshiMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali11 March 1939Kalankit Kon?Bakshi ShethChimanlal TrivediMumbai Gujarati Natak Mandali

References

Further reading