by B-Spot Productions
19 June, Friday | 8:00 pm | Shreeram Lagoo Rang Avkash, Pune
Rang Birangi Lavani
Rang Birangi Lavani reclaims the inherently queer spirit of Maharashtra’s iconic Lavani tradition—bold, sensual, mischievous, and boundary-breaking. Historically performed by both women and men in female attire, Lavani has long challenged ideas of gender and expressed sensuality and desire unapologetically. This vibrant performance weaves together stories of queer love, longing, identity, and fantasy: a trans woman sparring with her brother over makeup, a woman yearning for a lost female lover, a man grappling with masculinity and many more. Through electrifying music, interactive storytelling, and infectious dance, the show celebrates queer lives while touching universal emotions of love, loss, desire, and belonging.
Content notes
Smoke/Haze, References to sexual themes
Credits
Script and Direction:
Script and Direction:
Performance:
Performance:
Vocals and Performance:
Lights:
Creative Production:
Music Composition:
Vocals:
Special Thanks:
Bhushan Korgaonkar (he/him)
Kunal Vijayakar (he/him)
Akshay Malvankar (he/him/she/her)
Gauri Jadhav (she/her)
Sopinath Patokar (he/him)
Yash Potnis (he/him)
Geetanjali Kulkarni (she/her)
Khamosh Shah and Vikas Rawat
Shakuntalabai Nagarkar, Pushpa Satarkar, Latabai Waikar, Rakhi Choure, Eesha Mane, Ganesh More, Vikas Rawat and Deepali Badekar
Humsafar Trust, Suhail Abbasi, Monica Mahendru
Director’s Note
Rooted in Maharashtra’s folk traditions, Lavani has historically embraced fluidity in gender, performance, and desire—where men performed femininity, women voiced bold sensuality, and the stage became a space of transformation. Long before the language of “queerness” entered public discourse, Lavani was already challenging society’s fixed ideas of identity, morality and respectability. Rang Birangi Lavani seeks to reclaim this radical spirit. Personally for us, this production is not about attaching modern labels to a traditional form, but about recognizing the freedom that has always existed within it. The many short stories in this production revolve around human emotions rather than labels of gender or sexuality, with several narratives emerging from the lived experiences of the artists themselves. We wanted the stage to become a space where identities are not confined, but allowed to exist in all their complexity. The idea is to achieve this through music, dance, humour, and intimacy, inviting audiences to look beyond binaries and celebrate a shared humanity.
Director’s Bio
Bhushan Korgaonkar (he/him) has been engaging with Lavani artists since 2004 which led him to write his award-winning book ‘Sangeet Bari’ (Rajhans Prakashan) in 2014. Based on it he went on to create the much-acclaimed show ‘Sangeet Bari’. He has also directed four other plays. Bhushan writes fiction which primarily deals with sexuality and crime. His stories on ‘Storytel’ app are widely popular and so are his periodic features in ‘Loksatta’ and ‘Mint Lounge; chronicling his relationship with unique cuisines. He has written songs for music videos produced by ‘Agents of Ishq’ & ‘Humsafar Trust’. He has recently translated a book from Marathi into English titled ‘Dalit Kitchens of Marathwada’.
Kunal Vijayakar (he/him) heads two art studios in Mumbai where he facilitates art, theatre and literature related events. An adept photographer, he has widely photo-documented the traditional Lavani artists and collaborated with several production houses to document theatre related events. He has directed a music video for ‘Humsafar Trust’ based on a quarrel of a transwoman and her brother about the freedom to express through make-up. Kunal is also an actor, a puppeteer, a graphic designer and a language trainer.
Bhushan and Kunal together have also directed the musical play ‘Basuri Jab Gaane Lage’ based on the life of flute maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and his artistic journey.