Theaterfest: Day 4
The fourth day of Theaterfest showcased some of the best plays by students at IITB. The evening began with Upanyaas, written and directed by Yash Kumar.
The play was about understanding the importance of people in our lives. We never think how our lives would be without them or what contribution they make. The setting of a naukar and his maalik was chosen to show this theme, since a servant is often the most neglected part of a household, his importance greatly underestimated.
The play was set in a rural household with the son of the maalik living in Delhi. The maalik (who is a writer) and his naukar live happily in their home, the only spoke in their wheel being a padosi who continually scolds the servant. The maalik has only one wish- to write his last novel about his son. The whole story deals with his obsession with his son and what his son does for him, while he rarely gives any importance to his devoted servant.
In the latter half of the story it is revealed that the son actually died 8 months ago; all the things that the maalik thought his son had done were actually done by his servant. It takes time for the maalik to realize the importance of his servant in his life and then he decides that his last novel will be about his servant rather than his son.
Thanks to its unique script and excellent acting, the play received a standing ovation.
Khatta Meetha: This was an amalgamation of two streetplays written and directed by Ravali Prasad. The plays- Agnipareeksha and Sonu ka Gold Medal dealt with women’s emancipation and the pressure to perform on 12th Standard students. The performance, which was originally in a streetplay format, was well adapted to the LT stage, and had the audience in splits for most of the time. However, they quickly sobered down in the serious bits and both the pieces had a hard hitting ending.
Seedha Saadha Gadha: This was the last play of the night and was written and directed by Siddarth Kataria, Abhinav Yadav (Enthu) and Nitin Singh (Naash). Also a street performance, it dealt with the cynicism and lack of conscientiousness in society. The chief character was that of a gadha who in his stupidity tried to question the indolence of the people around him. He is thrown into prison and beaten up for his pains, and by the end of the pay, he decides that he will care no more. This play was scheduled to be performed on Day 3 of the fest itself, but was postponed to the fourth day due to scheduling problems.