Play Review “Bumboo: The Play” by Epic Shit Entertainment

What happens when two out of luck depressed beings, get kidnapped by a gay drug lord and two drug dealers? Epic Shit happens. “Bumboo: The Play” is the third installment of “The Bad Deeds Trilogy” by Epic Shit Entertainment. This is one of those no-holds barred play which makes you laugh with “Oh no, you just did not say that” going in your head.  It starts with three very different, unrelated stories involving some interesting and peculiar characters and then all these characters come together while despising and 'loving' each other. Every character is peculiar and well laid out. The act opens with a monologue by Tara, played by Sukhmani Lamba. Tara is an unemployed and potty mouthed woman whose language and attitude can send the toughest of men packing home. Tara is has created a strong exterior to hide her insecurities. Then comes the story of a timid, socially awkward highly under confident Kashish Panda, played by Farhad Colabvala, telling his story. The scene then switches to shadow play between two people. They are ‘Delhi Gangsters’ and cocaine dealers. The gang comprises of helpless Aslam, drug lord and tyrant Ganesh and funnyman Puchi. Aslam, played by Rahul Tewari would’ve probably been the guy next door who is stuck in a forced relationship with his boss, Ganesh. Puchi, played by Gopal Verma likes to see the glass as half full.

Strength of the play lies in performances of each actor. Farhad and Gopal steal the show with their facial expressions doing most of the talking. It’s a situational comedy which is very physical and loud. If you are someone who raises objection over ‘obscenity in cinema’, stay away from the play. 

The Director has used shadow play for showing 'sex scenes'. Do not expect them to be 'flowers kissing' we are used to in old hindi movies. Must give credit to writer and director Madhav Mehta for a fast paced, unapologetic play which entertains all through. 

Do watch this play when it's next in town. Needless to say, do not take kids. 

Cast and Crew

Kashish Panda –Farhad “Kingbawa” Colabvala

Tara Khosla – Sukhmani “Sookhi” Lamba

Ganesh – Akash “The Axe Man” Mehta

Aslam – Rahul “G-Faadu” Tewari

Puchi – Gopal “The Scrotal Assassin” Verma

Written and Directed by – Madhav Mehta

Story by – Rakesh “Smackie” Palisetty and Madhav Mehta

Inspired by – Christopher Durang’s ‘Laughing Wild’ & Larry Shue’s ‘The Foreigner’

Sound and Music – Ritwik “Jaan Lemon” De

Play Review: The Guest List

“It’s better to have loved and lost than to live with a Psycho for the rest of your life”

These are the words I saw written on a porcelain plate somewhere once and the words stuck to me.  Nothing describes divorces and this play more aptly. Four guests, trapped in a restaurant with no waiter, and the host missing sounds like a mystery plot. It starts like one with a an uptight, rich antiques dealer Bengali guy named Roy playing Sherlock Holmes about why he was there and where the host is along with a loud, dumb as a rock Punjabi Nikunj. However, it soon turns into a clash of the ex’s as “No.3” arrives. Roy’s thought of “What can be worse than this?” is answered in form of his equally uptight and successful but confused Punjabi ex-wife Ashima Khurana entering the scene. Things get even more interesting with the arrival of “Guest No.4” who is none other than Nikunj’s archeologist ex-wife Gauri.  But shit really hits the fan when the fifth guest arrives.

Photo Credit: Blue Phoenix Productions FB Page

Co-Produced by Blue Phoenix Productions and Leap Of Faith Productions in association with EOS21, “The Guest List” is a story of an encounter gone hay wire where two ex-couples are embroiled in a surprising tale of events filled with dramatic twists and turns. This has to be one of the most original, well written and well directed play I have seen in a while. It is a refreshing change to see a play which is original and not ‘adopted’.  Co-Produced by Mohak Pajni and Adhiraj Sharma, the play is a typical “Indian Masala Comedy” which strong characterisation and a hilarious script. Adhiraj also plays the role of Roy and with equal aplomb as his direction. Shruti Kattar plays Ashima Khurana, the successful modern writer whose Punjabi roots sprout in tough situations. Kaavya Bector, in the role of Gauri Bharti Murli plays the control freak who likes to flaunt her “PhD” but was strangely married to Nikunj, played by Gaurav Amlani.  While every actor played their part perfectly, Gaurav just steals the show as a typical Punjabi with perfect comic timing, eloquent dialogue delivery and body language. The script uses just the right amount of Punjabiness and words to keep the audiences in splits throughout the play. Each character’s “statehood” is butt many jokes but by maintaining a fine balance the jokes do not enter the offensive and “have heard it before” category. Mohak Pajni enters the scene just before Act 2 and leads the second Act. I would rather not say who she plays except that she is the fifth guest. Her demeanor and actions scare everyone but she is doing it for a reason.

Photo Credit: Blue Phoenix Productions FB Page

This is a must watch play. The biggest strength of the play is the perfect  comic timing with a great script and direction which will make you laugh your ass off.  You can watch it on 23^rd May at LTG Auditorium, New Delhi.

About the Play: 

Produced by: Blue Phoenix Productions and Leap Of Faith Productions

Written and Directed by: Adhiraj Sharma

Cast: 

Gaurav Amlani: Nikunj
Shruti Khattar: Ashima Khurana
Kaavya Bector: Gauri Bharti Murli
Mohak Pajni: Guest No. 5 (Watch to play to see what her role is)
Adhiraj Sharma:  Roy Chatterjee 

Play Review: No Experience of theatre required by Turquoise Palette

A motivational speaker once said “Never let inexperience get in way of your ambition”. While it makes a lot of sense and is motivating but it can spell disaster in wrong hands. The play depicts such a disaster perfectly.  The result of having an inexperienced, overconfident director putting up a play with self absorbed and eccentric nincompoop of a cast will drive audiences to the limit of their patience and have them demand refund. Do not worry, I am not talking about this play but about the play within this play. Confused? I did not demand my money back because I could barely stop laughing through the entire play. The play takes you through the process and the end result of couple of crazy people, with IQ as low as our economic growth rate, coming together and trying and create a theatrical masterpiece. The play begins with the said play being performed in front of the audience but then suddenly everyone starts to improvise resulting in a classical greek tragedy looking like comedy of errors. The entire cast has fit to their role like a well fitted glove but the play belongs to Shibani Bedi – the recovered (or has she) mentally unstable Punjabi girl who brings her Punjabi flavor to Medea’s role. There were moments when she sent the audience in splits even with her mere body language without even saying a word.

The Akshara theatre was a perfect setting for the play as there is no dead spot in the stage at anytime. Actors keep performing their acts in the background with as much zest as the performer in focus. The small stage helped audience capture all that is going on the stage. Not only was the script hilarious, the delivery by every actor was spot on. Adhiraj Sharma needs a special mention too playing an over-confident, self absorbed, inexperienced, talentless actor. All characters get into character to get out of it. Arun Prakash delivers a phenomenal performance as the inexperienced Director, whose English would make the Queen laugh rather than feel offended.

What makes the play ironic is the fact that it is actually the first play written, directed and music composed by Pallav Chander and newly formed Turquoise Palette. Let’s see what other colors this palette has. However, while this might be the first time he wore director’s shoes, he is no newbie to the theatre scene and it shows with the attention to detail and the engaging screenplay.

I highly recommend this play. It was by close friend’s birthday and I took him there and he said it is the best birthday he could’ve had. So, do catch it the next time. Don’t miss it. I won’t.

Production By: Turquoise Palette

Written, Directed and Music By: Pallav Chander

Lights by: Vinimay

Cast:

Director: Arun Prakash

Hades: Adhiraj Sharma

Aphrodite: Shibani Bedi

Zeus: Shekhar Murugan

Psoidon: Nand Chopra

Dancer: Shivani Nagar

Let Zip: Varoon P Anand

Choreographer: Dimple Kaur

Guruji: Harish

Veteran Guest: Sarthak Mattoo

Assistant: Subhashani/ Debontika

Play Review: Play it Hot by Akshara Theatre

This play is based on a concept which we have seen in movies like 'Some like it Hot' starring Marilyn Monroe and Rafoo chakkar (starring Rsihi Kapoor)  - couple of cross-dressing musicians on the run trying to save their lives.

The play opens with a radio conversation between the senior police official and the raiding party (voice overs). It then switches to a small cafe where an out of luck band is hanging out. They have no money to pay for their coffee let alone pay their rent. Suddenly they get embroiled in a gun fight between two gangs and become a witness to it. To escape the goons and the police they disguise themselves as 'Rapchik Rockers' - all girl band. They take up a gig in Goa which will provide them the much required money and a nice holiday. What happens next is a series of lies, deception, flirting and love trials. 

This play is a pure entertainer. The range of characters and their antics make this play a light hearted comedy. Be it the beautiful gold digging lead singer Sweety, the bubbly but strict Shruti Ma'am who breaks into a dance sequence at drop of a musical note, creepily flirtatious Thakur Raj Singh or pretentious Jijo managing two identities - every character has its quirks which audience loved. The guys get a taste of what it is to be pursued by men high on libido.The songs are absolute treat to the ears sung by very melodious Nisa Shetty in the role of Sweety and Vipin as the chotu turned Asst Manager. Jaya as Shritu Ma'am lets her hair lose along with the rest of the crew and you clap on. There is even a shayari competition between two warring gangs which ends in an anti-climax.

The cozy setting of Akshara is just a cherry on top for this entertaining play. This might not be a contender for any awards but is not meant to be. It is meant to send you back home refreshed and happy and it will not disappoint you.

Do check it out at Akshara Theatre on September 21 and 22.

About the Play:

Director: Anasuya Vaidya
Play By: Akshara TheatreCast: 

Singers	Vipin Heero
	Nisa Shetty
Dancers	Jaya
	Shaily Priya
	Yashna
	Gayathri
Chhotu/ Asst. Manager	Vipin Heero
Jijo/ Jia	Angad Thakur
Jaani/ Jenelle	Dhruv Shetty
Saxy/ Chitrangada	Mahant Shah
Kaalia Flunkeys	Shaily Proya Pandey
	Yashna Shetty
	S. Gayathri
Don	R.K. Peter
Sidekick/  Bellboy	Ankur Anand
Sweety	Nisa Shetty
Thakur Raj Singh	Vikalp Mudgal
Shruti Ma’am	Jaya
Voice Overs	Ajay Shetty
	Rocky Grover

Lights: Anusuya Vaidya
Sound: Harendra Bhandana