Period : 10th December 1892-15th March 1937

A petite figure with an average personality, despite not being blessed with a mellifluous voice and good physique; made his mark in the history of Marathi theatre through sheer determination and hard work.

Bapurao was also very intelligent. As a vocalist he had loud, strong and voluminous voice, which created ripples in the audience. He could flawlessly sing in all the three octaves with equal propensity and his voice was well suited to ‘Vir’ Rasa.

Bapurao also honed his acting skills along with his singing abilities during his association with late Keshavrao Bhosale while assisting him in playing the ‘organ’ (a musical instrument similar to harmonium and played in musical dramas)during most of the stage shows performed under Lalitkaladarsha. Bapurao inculcated the singing style of Keshavrao primarily in these days.

Till the year 1920, Bapurao performed several ‘Stree Bhoomikas’ (casted as a woman) in several plays in roles/characters of ‘Bhamini’, ‘Dewangana’, ‘Vasantsena’, ‘Manjiri’ and ‘Kishori’ with Keshavrao.

Milestones :

January 1915 : Bapurao was formally inducted in Keshavrao Bhosale’s ‘Lalitkaladarsha’.

1915 : Bapurao made his first appearance in Govind Ballal Deol’s play named ‘Sangeet Sharada’ in the lead role of ‘Sharada’. Bapurao performed as ‘Dewangana’ in Vir Vamanrao Joshi’s ‘Rakshasi Mahatwakansha’ and also played organ during Keshavrao’s performance.

Haach Mulacha Baap

1915 : Bapurao acted as ‘Bhamini’ in ‘Sangeet Manapaman’ along with Keshavrao.

7th September 1918 : Bapurao performed the role of ‘Manjiri’ in the drama named ‘Haach Mulacha Baap’ at Nagpur (which was a prose drama redirected as a musical drama by Keshavrao).

25th September 1919 : Bapurao acted as ‘Kishori’ in ‘Sanyasacha Saunsar’ while in Mumbai.

3rd February 1920 : Bapurao acted as ‘Vasantsena’ in ‘Mrichchakatik’ – the open air theatre stage show at Shahu Maharaj Palace arena. Bapurao was honoured with a cash pr5ize of Rs.500/- from Chhatrapati Shahu.

1920 : Bapurao obtained the patronage of Ramkrishnabuva Vaze.

23rd April 1921 : a paper presentation on Natyasammelan and related topics was organized at Kirloskar Theatre in Pune. The program was sponsored by Lalitkaladarsha.

14th May 1921 : Bapurao acted as ‘Tukau’ in ‘Sangeet Shaha Shivaji’ by Yashwantrao Tipnis.

8th July 1921 : Bapurao played harmonium in ‘Sangeet Manapaman’ organized jointly by Keshav Narayan at Balliwala Theatre in Mumbai.

4th October 1921 : Keshavrao Bhosale passed away in Pune. The reins of Lalitkaladarsha were handed over to Bapurao Pendharkar and Nanasaheb Chaphekar.

15th June 1922 : After Keshavrao’s demise, the company staged its first play named ‘Sangeet Satteche Ghulam’ written by Mama Varerkar at Bombay Theatre, Mumbai. The lead role of ‘Vaikunth’ played by Bapurao gave him lot of public appreciation as a young, upcoming artist. The costumes in the drama were also a rage amongst teenagers and came to be known as ‘Vaikunth Collar’.

2nd December 1922 : Bapurao acted as ‘Shukracharya’ in ‘Sangeet Vidyaharan’.

21st December 1924 : Shri Nanasaheb Chaphekar backed out of the partnership in Lalitkaladarsha and more so with Bapurao. Subsequently the company was solely left in the hands of Bapurao.

3rd December 1926 : A new drama named ‘Shree’ written by N.G.Kamatnurkar was staged. The drama had a famous award-winning song ‘Sakhi Mukhachandra’ which received a Gold Medal from HMV Gramaphone Company.

Here is a list of some of the widely appreciated dramas produced by the company during 1927-1934.

1. ‘Shikka Katyar’ written by Y.N.Tipnis
2. ‘Sajjan’ written by N.G.Kamatnurkat
3. Krishnaarjunyuddha
4. Vadhupariksha
5. ‘Sangeet Sonyacha Kalas’ written by Mama Varerkar
6. Royal Opera

January 1933 : Silver Jubilee function of Lalitkaladarsha celebrated at Sangli, Maharashtra.

1936 : Bapurao was felicitated at the anniversary celebrations of King of Gwalior, India.

15th March 1937 : Bapurao passed away at Gwalior.