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Shortly thereafter, Panshikar was appointed as the Manager of 'Natya Niketan'. Since he was an actor first, he could and therefore had to stand in during 'emergencies' for other actors. This is how he polished and groomed himself as a versatile actor one capable of playing the lead, the villain, roles of Old, young, crippled, funny men, the entire range. This is where he cut his teeth on the art of Production. This is where he studied and mastered all theatre production. This relentless struggle of fifteen years was finally rewarded in 1962, when Panshikar got the lead role in a new play called 'To Mee Navech', There is an old adage ''There comes a tide in the life of every man, which, taken at the ebb, leads him to his fortune. '' It was an opportunity of a littletime and Panshikar was poised and waiting for it. The play went on to earn tremendous acclaim for the next four decades and continues to draw crowds even today. Panshikar's brilliant touch turned his role to gold. 'To Mee Navech' is probably the first play in the world where the same actor has to do five completely different roles, not to merely add to novelty value or as a stunt, but because the story demands it. The ceaseless journey of the play from 1962 to 2003 has been one long story of absolutely selfless devotion to theatre and incredible consistence in performances all 2800 shows. Panshikar
was 31 when the play was launched. Today he is 72, going strong
an little things like a bypass heart surgery or advancing age do
not deter him one bit. The incredible energy and enthusiasm that
he has for anything and everything connected with theatre is enough
to put anyone half his age to shame.
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