(Photo Credits: Two Spoons Entertainment)
It starts with search for inspiration, moves forward with a story that becomes the inspiration and ends with a thought; thought that becomes fodder for your mind, thought that leads to you having goose bumps for a while, thought that leads repercussions throughout your journey back home. That is Holi for you, my friend…
Finally, I made my debut in theatre! Now, before you start assuming things, let me clear it out for you. I made my debut in theatre as a part of the audience and not as cast or crew!
Why have I not seen a play until now? Well, I have been wondering the same thing! I have spent two years exploring nook and corner of Juhu (you see My Postgraduate College was in Juhu) but somehow I never came across Prithvi Theatre! It has been 6 years, 6 years and 6 months to be precise that I am residing at Thane. Every day I pass by Gadkari Hall and I have yet to catch a play there! Therefore, when, Sohail invited me to watch his play, for a moment he really got me thinking. The play was scheduled to be staged on a weekday, at Prithvi (which is far away from my home as well as office), at 6pm and 9pm. It really seemed impossible but I am happy that I worked my way out and made it possible!
At 5:54pm to be precise, I was there at Prithvi Theatre. I had assumed that it would be a huge hall or an overbearing structure but I was shocked to see that it is such a small, cozy, warm and welcoming place. I mean, there were no escorts waiting with garlands to welcome me; in fact, there was no need, something about that place was welcoming enough. However, I had no time, to loiter around as I was getting late for the play.
Naïve that I was, I did not even know that unlike cinema halls, here one can go and sit anywhere. There are no set seat numbers! First lesson learnt! The stage was set, the lights went out and I was bubbling with excitement. From the first line that was actually, a request delivered by Nidhi to the last scene of the play, without a doubt I was hooked!
The play is about inspiration, fun, friendship, revolt, and its consequences. On the occasion of Holi, the characters who are hostel mates are frustrated, angry, and disappointed that they don’t have a holi-day. Instead, they have full schedule along with the added burden of “Education Film” so they plan to do something about it. In this process, secrets are unveiled, they get to know each other better, facets of human emotions spring out. Somehow things don’t go according to their plan and soon the cat is out of box. From the light banter to the cold paranoia the play progresses leaving you rooted to your place.
I laughed with Arjun as he tried to jam his “shitty” songs; I smiled at the bold banter between the friends, I felt bad when they were denied a holiday and subjected to the torture of ‘edu film’. I laughed with Taimur (Mayur) when he took jeers at his handicap lightly and pitied Anand (Anuj) for losing his cell. Shrivastav (Nikhil) reminded me of those exploiting friends and I saw a bit of myself in Shreya (Nidhi). Gopal ( Abhishek), Basant (Dilip), Lalu ( Gaurav) and Thakur (Sohail) showed me the true spirit of friendship, stand by once – stand by always. Pandey (Amol) brought back the memories of the school goons and Ranjeet (Rajat) reminded me of Godfather.
From tears of joy, partner in mischief, tense mind, goose bumps to cold feet, I experienced it all. The background score, the lights, the fast pace of the story and the awesome actors made it an experience of life for me. I forgot that I am just a spectator to a play, I felt as if I am there, as if I am one among them. The message was passed on successfully. The story was not something that we have not heard about, there was nothing new in the scenes, the characters could have been anyone whom we know, yet there was something different.
It was a great experience for me, not just me; the audience there felt the same. I am not surprised to know that both the shows even when they were back to back went houseful! The general reaction of the audience was ranging from great to spectacular! Some of them exclaimed about Lalu being so cute, some fell for the rash and blunt boy Gopal, the brooding Ranjeet or the handsome but sly Shrivastav, while some agreed by the stiff Thakur, but unanimously everyone felt for Anand, the sensitive, yet the foolish of the lot.
I would not be surprised if Two Spoons Entertainment starts getting requests for the staging this play again and again and again.
Moral of the story: An evening well spent. A new experience to talk about. Promising debut for the production company. Good performance by the seasoned actors.
For more Information: http://goo.gl/CifWD
From the Horse’s Mouth: http://goo.gl/H4li1
The above post has also been published here.
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