Rohan Gujar, Ketaki Palav out of Marathi play Aamne Saamne, claim they were removed over fee demand

Actors Rohan Gujar and Ketaki Palav have abruptly been shown the door in the Marathi play "Aamne Saamne", which is much talked about on the Marathi stage at present. The two shared a video on social media to say they had been replaced in the play. They said they were pained that, having been removed this way, they could not even enjoy the final show.

Rohan and Ketaki posted the video on Instagram. In it they say, "We will never get to say the line 'Ab milte hain aamne-saamne' again. Because from now on, neither of us will be part of Aamne Saamne."

Rohan said he has been doing the play for seven or eight years and has performed in as many as 670 shows so far. Ketaki said she has been in the play for three and a half years and has done 520 shows. The two say that even after so many years, they were not given a proper goodbye.

According to them, the play was staged at Ravindra Natya Mandir on 18 October. A meeting was held after it ended, and they were then told, "This was your last show."

"People have come back 25 times each to watch this play. We could not say a last goodbye to the play, nor could we enjoy the final show," the two said. Rohan's father has watched the play 11 times. They added that had the family known this was the last show, they too would have come to see it.

Ketaki and Rohan said they were removed from the play without any prior notice. They claim they were removed because they had asked for an increase in money, that is, their fee.

Rohan said the play was shut down twice during Covid. They performed the shows then at half their fee. He also said the play was off for some time because of a dispute among the producers, yet he continued to perform in it.

The two thanked the audience for the love they showed the play. Since they will no longer appear in it, Rohan and Ketaki ended by apologising to the audience.

The video is going viral and several Marathi artistes have reacted to it. Actor Astad Kale said, "I know the real reason, and I was angry too when I learnt it. What must it have been like for you?" Mayuri Deshmukh, Apurva Nemlekar, Shashank Ketkar, Rutuja Bagwe, Sukanya Mone, Spruha Joshi, Richa Apte and Vikas Patil have also commented on the video.