Anna effectively led the production house with his thoughtful imagination corroborated with his other qualities of hardwork and his experimentative nature. Under the aegis of Lalitkaladarsha, he produced dramas like “Jai Jai Gaurishankar” and “Bawankhani” which became equally popular. Apart from these; some of the experimental plays with contemporary topics like “Anandi Gopal”, “Rakt Nako Maj Prem Hawe” and “Zala Anant Hanumant” were also appreciated by audience.

Anna was an excellent vocalist and a performing artist. Some of his appreciable qualities were - punctuality, proclivity to use modern techniques in presentations and constantly encouraging upcoming playwrights and artists. These have also by and large been the guiding principles of Lalitkaladarsha.

"Shrimant"

The success of Lalitkaladarsha was enabled by Anna with his efficient direction as a responsible production head.
Being a vocalist and a performer, he flawlessly enacted the roles of ‘Digu’, ‘Bala’, ‘Narada’, ‘PanditRaj Jagannath’ during his dramatics career. He acquired name and fame mainly through these roles.

Bhalchandra Vyankatesh Pendharkar : Life Story

15th March 1937: Inherited the reins of Lalitkaladarsha at 16 years of age.

3rd July 1938: Received patronage of ‘Pandit Ramkrishan Buva Vaze’ the stalwart vocalist of Gwalior Gharana and who had also been the guru, mentor and guide of Bapurao Pendharkar and Keshavrao Bhosale.

28th November 1942: Performed the play named “Satteche Gulam” at Baliwala Theatre, in Grant Road, Mumbai. This was the first public performance after taking over the affairs of Lalitkaladarsha.

1942 – 1956: Some of the older plays like “Satteche Gulam”, “Sanyasacha Suansar” and “Sangeet Sonyacha Kalas” were staged regularly. A few shows of another play named “Sangeet Bhavbandhan” casted by Lata Mangeshkar and Chittaranjan Kolhatkar were also staged.

1948: Post-marriage with Malati Pendharkar (maiden name: Malati Naphade); she supported Anna in his career and actively participated in all the newer dramas of Lalitkaladarsha.

1952: Acted as ‘Bala’ in V.Shantaram’s motion picture “Amar Bhupali”.

1954: The character of ‘Bala’ in a play named “Honaji Bala” performed under patronage of Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh at the Rashtriya Mahotsav in New Delhi was readily appreciated by the audiences.

1956: A new drama named “Swamini” written by Purshottam Bhaskar Bhave was produced under Lalitkaladarsha.

1957: Another drama named “Duritanche Timir Jaho”, written by Bal Kolhatkar was also produced in which Anna performed the lead role of ‘Digu’ and rendered one of the most ravishing song ‘Aai Tujhi Aathvan Yete’ which is tantamount to a momento for all his achievements during his career.

1958: A successful entourage throughout India in cities like Delhi, Kolkatta, Bangalore and Madras with around 60 stage shows in mere 2 months was one of the significant achievements.

Panditraj Jagannath

1960: Anna produced a new play ‘PanditRaj Jagannath’ scripted by Shri Vidyadhar Gokhale wherein he enacted the title role of ‘PanditRaj Jagannath’. The play was about the well-known Sanskrit & urdu poet, PanditRaj Jagannath of Mughal Emperor Shahajahan.
The play completed a record number of over 1000 shows.

1961: “PanditRaj Jagannath” was also staged in the presence of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (the first prime minister of India) and Shri Yashwantrao Chavhan (the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra) at Delhi.

1966 – 1983: A series of prose and musical dramas on various social, mythological subjects were produced by Lalitkaladarsha. Here is a list of some of the popular dramas:

1. Jai Jai Gaurishankar
2. Geeta Gati Dyaneshwar
3. Shabbas Birbal Shabbas
4. Anandi Gopal
5. Zala Anant Hanumant