Play Review: Kathgodam Express by Behroopiya Entertainers

A guy on the run from the law for a crime he did not commit. This sounds like a very common plot. This is the theme of the play “Kathogodam Express” which is based on “39 Steps” and English classical movies hailed as one of the best Hollywood has ever produced. Theatre is just not about the story, it’s about how it is presented. The play is about Hari, an event manager, accidentally framed for murder, becomes a fugitive running from the long arm of the law. As he unravels, global conspiracies are exposed, and hidden truths of modern existence revealed. What differentiates this play from others is the fast pace, the multiple roles played by a single actor. Karan Mann did a brilliant job playing very different characters which were different not just in the role they were playing but the body language, dialect and personality. He switched between the various characters brilliantly keeping the audiences in splits in all his roles. Ritu Mago as the ‘spy who gets killed’ plays her role as spy-seductress with aplomb. Udit Ohri, playing the protagonist did a good job but the fast pace and quick changes between scenes did not allow for long scenes which really bring out the best in an actor. The entire team did a good job in switching between the scenes and sets though I wish they could’ve reduced the number of acts by combining them. It gets a little overwhelming. You will be laughing through several scenes but some acts could’ve been better script wise.  One message we get at the end of the play is that it is made from the heart to bring awareness for autism.

Written and Directed By : Shivani Singh

Produced By: Mudita Sharma Mehta, Rishi Mehta for Behroopiya Entertainers.

Cast : Nancy Arora, Ritu Mago, Gurinder Singh, Udit Ohri, Sonu Sonkar, Karan Maan, Deepak Yadav, Ritesh Kumar Vdy, Amit Verma

Play Review: SHE by Curtail Call Productions & Events and Behroopiya Entertainers

Plight of women in our society is well known. Some are the cause of it, some accept it exists, many have accepted it and very few want to change it.

 “She” is an original play which is a compilation of monologues surrounding current women’s issues. The script is fresh and written by Debontika Das. The script is the strength of the play. The monologues create a surreal experience about real problems women face these days – rapes, domestic violence and honor killings. With classical and contemporary symphonies, the audiences are taken through the journey of pain a woman goes through when she becomes target of crimes. I had goose bumps as soon as the play started with three figures – dressed what seemed like angels of death came on stage. Wounded angels, wounded as much by an indifferent, judgmental society as by the criminals who changed their entire life. Sonamm Sharma, whom I have seen in “Medea” proves her mettle as an actress portraying a strong character with strong dialogue delivery and loud body gestures. You can feel the anger deep within the character. Then comes Shibani Bedi, whom I have seen in “No experience in theatre required”, as a helpless victim of domestic violence. She creates real scenes with just her dialogues and you can feel the scenes of injustice happening in front of your eyes created by her monologue and dramatic actions performed in the background by the other two actresses. One could see the helplessness in her eyes and her body. Then comes Aarti Nayar, victim of another evil of our society – “Honor killings” – where hate overpowers love and society’s obsession with their idea of right clouds all logic. She did a great job but I wish the role was given a little bit more time for the character to develop and the problem to be highlighted. Overall, the three main elements, which make for a great play, come together –  direction, script and the acting.

I personally feel that while lots of people are talking about the problem faced by women, very few offer a solution. Neither does this play. I wish the characters, could talk about what changes need to be brought into the society to reduce such incidents of crime against women. It is a pretty intense play. Not for your light hearted evening out with family.

Presented by: CurtainCall Productions and Events. and Behroopiya Entertainers

Conceptualised by: White Noise Productions

Written & Directed by: Pallav S Chander & Debontika Das

Production: Vishesh Arora 

Cast
Aarti Nayar
Sonamm Sharma
Shibani Bedi

Review- Ishq da Syappa, Daughter In-law Weds Papa and Hi Punj (Stand up comedy)

Some say a miser is a capitalist gone mad. Behroopiya Entertainers have adopted the Moilerer's 'The Miser' into Punjabi (adaptation by which tells the story of a miser old man who wants to get his daughter and son married but not before he gets married himself to none other than his son's sweetheart. 

Lalaji (Sahil Kapoor), has large amounts of money stashed away in 'Gold Coins' but is constantly looking to save money and make more. So he wants wants his daughter Billo (Nancy Rustagi) to get married to a rich old man because he will not have to give 'dowry' but has no qualms in expecting dowry for his son Jassi's (Mudit Malik) and his own marriage. The daughter is very much in love with a guy who saved her life and the guy is now a loyal brown nosed servant Sukhi (played by Himanshu Mahajan) to Lalaji to win his heart and approval. The other loud mouthed, sarcastic servant Nambu (played by Pranav Midha) leaves no opportunity to tease lalaji. 

I felt a little disappointed as I had great expectations - having seen 'Run for your wife' (another production by Behroopiya). I was hoping to be rolling on the floor but most scenes, expect for scenes featuring Lalaji and Nambu were flat. Another character which tickles the funny bone is the character of Kuljeet bua (Nancy Arora) who can sweet talk people into doing what she wants. Jassi ended up shouting through most of his stage time. Punjabi language is energetic, expressive and funny on its own but script was a little let down. The play allowed for several comic situations but the opportunity was not fully utilised. While "Run for your wife" was a constant twisting and turning race track, this one was more of a straight highway with some sharp turns of fun. The play hit a low in the end when all the fun and laughter just fizzled out. Mrinal Dhar's direction was good but it was mostly the script which was a let down. 

After a short break, the stand up act 'Hi-Punj' was opened by Nancy Rustagi with a small but original and entertaining act. Sahil Kapoor and Pranav Midha presented the main standup act. There were some original pieces and the pair delivered them pretty well. However, several jokes were old and that is not what I expected. Stand up acts should be original. They pair has tremendous potential and if they get the script right, they can do wonders. I think Nancy too has great potential as a stand up comic and I would love to see more women doing stand up comedy. 

Play Review - "Run for your wife" by Behroopiya Entertainers

Having two beautiful working wives who can support themselves sounds like a dream for everyman. But then they also say: Be careful what you wish for because it might actually come true

'Run for your wife' is the longest running play in the world (so they say). In India, it has been adapted by 'Behroopiya Entertainers' (under license by Samuel French Ltd. (JAGRITI)). The original is written by Ray Cooney and it premiered way back in 1983 in London. The Indian presentation has been directed by Mrinal Dhar.

It is the story of Delhi cab driver Parminder Singh Bedi, who has two wives, two lives and a very precise schedule for juggling between them both. With one wife at home in Tilak Nagar and another at home in Rajouri Garden. Too add to the confusion is the upstairs neighbour in who gets entangled in the web of lies but tries his best to help. 

It was after a long time I laughed my heart out. With quality of Indian humor falling faster than morals of Indian politicians, this play brings some hope. This is not one of those mindless comedies which use slap stick humor and cliches which makes you question your own intelligence for having spent your time and money on it. For this comedy, do keep your brains switched on because it gets really confusing and this is a situational comedy at its very best. It begins with an 'unscheduled' encounter of Mr Bedi with an old lady's handbag with him being taken to the right home at the wrong time and thus begins a series of lies and confusion. I am sick of those comedies where all the characters are dumb as a rock and directors try to make audiences laugh through their dumbness. This play presents that how people with normal intelligence end up in cobwebs of lies and deceit. No one is dumb in this play.  The primarily English play has dollops of Punjabi thrown in which gives the play that perfect local flavor. While most of the actors were perfect in their own characters but were limited by the range of the characters they were playing, it was the character of Sukhi Singh Bali which provided the best of laughs in the entire play. He is the first one to know about the taxi driver's double life and therefore his only confidant. Sahil Kapoor, the actor playing Sukhi, provided amazing facial expressions ranging from delight to pain and to fear along with expressive body language. 

The audience was in splits throughout the play time of 90 mins and there were no dull moments. It is a one act play and the single stage set sometimes represents two homes and sometimes just one. It is the first time I have seen such a use of one single frame. Kudos to the creator and the director of the play for that. 

Do catch this play the next time it is in your city. You will relieve your entire week's stress. I am awaiting the next production from this group.