Meet Appurv Gupta: An Engineer who loves to bring smile on your face

Appurv Gupta is one of the most promising Stand Up Artist in the city and also in the country. An Engineer by profession, this young stand-up artist has been able to bring people from various background together to laugh on mundane issues, which includes searching for the ‘patle pin wala Nokia charger’!

Appurv’s solo show “Appurview: Laugh with an Engineer” has been a roaring success in Delhi and elsewhere. Here we present excerpts from a conversation with Appurv.

Nihal: Appurv, I have followed you videos on YouTube, and recently have been to your shows as well. Your show Appurview – Laugh with an engineer has been a stupendous hit among the engineers and young people. How has been the journey?

Appurv: As a stand-up comic, I am enjoying each and every moment of my life. It has been two years since I completed my college and have learnt so many things in these two years. The Journey of performing with 4 minutes set to doing my solo show of 75 minutes in 4 cities has been amazing. Sometimes it feels like I am living some dream especially whenever I receive a positive feedback after the show. The magic of laughter by audience keeps me motivate each and every moment to do stand-up.

Nihal: On a lighter note, why are you targeting the engineers? They are anyway not getting much due in the nation!

Appurv: (Laughs) You are very funny. You should also try your hands in open mic! But on a serious note, since I am an Engineer, so initially I thought to share about an engineer’s life. I know about them, their mindset, their hobbies, their goals, et cetera. But when I started sharing my stories with the audience I realized that these stories are not about engineers, it is universal and that’s why I think most of the people in my audience are able to relate to those jokes.

Also, speaking about engineers and their recognition, I would say engineers do the mainstream-ish professional work because they want to destroy the “Curiosity Keeda” which they have in their mind.

Nihal: How do you see stand-up comedy? Is it getting the right kind of audience it deserves? How has been the response? 

Appurv: For me stand-up comedy is my way to share my thoughts, to share my anger and sometimes to share other people’s stupidity as well. As people say that humour is the best way to connect with the people, so I think being a stand-up comic provides you opportunity to share messages with the audience. I think stand-up comedy on TV is getting the right type of audience. There is a longer road ahead for the live show version of the art where you have only one person on stage with one microphone and one mic stand.

Those who have seen the live stand-up shows, always appreciate and regret that how they have missed a great thing in their life! Once you make someone addict to live stand-up comedy shows, chances are that they won’t be able to leave this addiction and this art as an audience.

Nihal: Does stand-up art gives you the satisfaction an artist desires for? Or you plan to diversify your career map?

Appurv: Yes, stand-up art has given the kind of satisfaction I am looking for. Sometimes when I fail on stage, I think “Appurv,you are in the wrong profession!” But again that’s the part of game and the challenge is to convert those moments into standing ovation.

As a stand-up comic, I have experienced magical moments many times, but I like doing many things so I might add some more skills related to humour in my profile in coming future.

Nihal: You are essentially from Delhi, and have performed in various other cities as well. It will be great to get your understanding of stand-up comedy scenario in Delhi when compared to other parts of the nation.

Appurv: This is a very interesting question. In past 2 years I have performed in more than 30 cities and the range vary from metro cities like Delhi & Bangalore to small towns like Kashipur in Uttrakhand to Gandhidham in Gujrat.

I personally think that audience is mature enough in every city to understand your joke and they actually want to see stand-up comedy, especially the live format. It is just the medium which takes time, event organiser or clients in smaller cities are not as much aware about stand-up comedy when compared to the metropolis. Once this gap will be filled, small cities will also start enjoying stand-up comedy more frequently.

Nihal: Is there a Hindi stand-up comedy and English stand-up comedy divide in the nation? I ask this because when we see television, it is the Hindi comics who are making it huge. But in our metropolis we witness more of English comedy shows. If yes, then is it doing any good to the art?

Appurv: Actually I am not the right person for this question because sometimes I use Hindi in my set and at times I prefer my entire in English. I firmly believe it is all about thought- language is immaterial for me. If the thought has a fun quotient it will work in Hindi as well as in English.

Also, we have to think about the target audience. For comics on television, the target audience is spread across the country. For the comics in metropolis, they may not be able to entertain audience of tier 2 cities, but they have metropolis across the globe to entertain. A performer has to decide whom he wants to address.

I personally want to entertain everyone in India so I always try that my jokes and my language should be easy to relate to irrespective of your location in Delhi, Hyderabad, Pantnagar or Mussorrie.

Nihal: Lastly, when is the next show?

Appurv: This is the best question! I have a solo show “Appurview-Laugh with an Engineer” on August 10th at Jagriti Theatre, Bangalore then same show at India Habitat Center, Delhi on August 31st 2014.

Appurv signs off with a smile on his face!

(This interview was first published in My Theatre Cafe on August 1,2014

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Theatre Review: “Draupadi” fails to meet the ‘grand’ expectations

In recent times Atul Satya Kaushik’s theatre group, FTS (abbreviated for The Film and Theatre Society) has been quite active in Delhi. Atul has emerged as a Writer and Director, attracting many people in the city with his productions. Interestingly Atul has also tried to explore the saga of the epic Mahabharatha through his writings. One of the many plays written by Atul is “Draupadi”. MTC saw the performance of “Draupadi” at Kamani Auditorium on May 30, 2014.

To start with, the premise of the play is very interesting. A group of women in Harayana are interpreting and exploring the epic Mahabharata from their critical point of view. Women characters from across the generation participate in the discussion. They have to weave a play around the character of “Draupadi”.

 

While exploring the possibilities of the character, they raise extremely important questions which needs to be critically analysed. The patriarchal structure of society is being questioned. “Draupadi” is a musical play, or as claimed by the theatre group “a Grand Musical Show”. Sadly the musical elements in the play fails to meet our grand expectations, as many actors went off-beat innumerable times while performing. Interestingly the play uses the Raagini tradition from Haryana to start and end the play. This added value to the play though.

“Draupadi” is a decent attempt, but loosely knitted play. Though the script does offer some really hard-hitting dialogues, at many occasions they tend to become melodramatic. The performances of the actors do not justify the huge possibility of the script. The play lacks a good chorus, which was of the utmost importance given the fact that it is essentially a musical production.

The play takes a very interesting stand to represent the character of Draupadi. The playwright metaphorically represents Draupadi through various women actors, deliberately drawing a similarity between Draupadi and the women in today’s world.

There were few very interesting conversations in the play. A song “Mere Char Dinon Ka do Hisaab”, is a conversation between Draupadi and Krishna (the almighty God), regarding the Menstrual Cycle of the women. The song has a very interesting plot which could have been the highlight of the play. But the song went off-beat severely and thus became unimpressive. But another song “Devar Aaya Levne” was extremely impressive with hard hitting visuals of Dussasan trying to grab Draupadi and the song being performed simultaneously.

In the scene when Kauravas ‘molest’ Draupadi in the grand assembly, Atul creates a very strong poetic conversation between Draupadi and others. The long poem “Saari Agar Utar Jaaegi” had extremely hard hitting dialogues. But the actor playing Draupadi made a grammatical mistake in the poem repeatedly when she said “Saari Agar Khul Jaaegi”. If this could have been avoided, one would have had a better experience.

Because the climax scene was a poetic recitation, it became far more hard hitting. Actor playing Draupadi in the climax scene did a very good job and deserves applause for pulling the performance.

Though the play raises important critical questions, and criticizes the basic structure of the society, it failed to impress this audience. But it did receive a good response from a full-house audience in Kamani.


This review was first published in My Theatre Cafe on June 4, 2014
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Exploring Theatre with Deepak Dhamija: “I Don’t See a Reason to Complain Till the Time People are Putting Their Lives into Theatre”

Deepak Dhamija is one of the most promising theatre practitioners from Delhi who made a stunning mark with Shoelace Productions. In a very short span of Three and a half years, his theatre group, Shoelace Productions, has produced few original plays which certainly contributed in the rich theatre heritage of Delhi. Deepak is a Writer, who loves to Direct or vice-versa. He has a degree in Engineering and one in MBA from IIM Calcutta. But he chose to spend most interesting years of his life in and around a theatre auditorium.

I have personally worked very closely with Deepak, and always felt a journalistic conversation will make me understand the creative person in him a bit better. This conversation took place at a time when Deepak is preparing for his next production ‘Animal Song’, which is scheduled to be staged at Kamani Auditorium on May 24, 2014.

I am sharing an excerpt from a long conversation.

Deepak Dhamija

Nihal: A journey from corporate to theatre- it sounds interesting, but how does it feel like?

Deepak: Well, to be honest, it’s like having two relationships. With theatre it started more as a passionate love affair- nothing to be gained. I could never fathom why I started doing theatre except that I enjoy doing it. And I remember the day when I was totally bankrupt because of this affair. When my batch mates from IIM were in the race to be the first CEO from the batch, I had reached the other spectrum and became the first bankrupt guy from the batch. The real world is quite a bit different than silver screen. For me it was little difficult to borrow from friends or family and continue following my passion. So then I decided to get back to my ex-corporate world. And since then I am kinda maintaining a balance between both the relationships. Corporate world is quite dry, devoid of emotion, humor and crazy about numbers. I don’t approve of it and not really fond of spending time with her but then I am indebted to her as I am able to live with integrity because of her. When my passionate affair almost forced me to go hungry, corporate world ensured that I survived. Now let’s see how long I will be able to manage both the affairs.

Nihal: Your plays have interesting elements of absurdity. Where do you draw your inspiration from- any writer or incident?

Deepak: (Laughs) I have not written too many plays. Only 2 full lengths and 4 short plays. And none ever mentioned that my plays are absurd except my actors (smiles); and that too because they don’t look at the whole picture. So far, I try to showcase the life which I have come across so far. May be I lived an absurd life and never realised it.

I remember once I saw several people eating chole-kulche in a candle march against rape. And one guy was holding candle and kulche in one hand and was raising slogans while eating. It’s very real situation- the desire to have chole-kulche in middle of an intense struggle. Now when I tried to recreate in one of the workshops, someone mentioned it’s a very absurd thought. Same is the case with our play Majh- How do you decide which is more intense- Love for one’s Buffalo or love for one’s country? I am still not sure about most of things including the meaning of my existence. May be it reflects in the stories I have written.

Nihal: What is your take on the way theatre functions in Delhi- from quality of plays to the conditions of performing spaces?

Deepak: I am a young kid on the block (at least I would like to think so) and it would not be proper for me to comment about quality of production. There are different groups with different styles. I don’t see a reason to complain till the time people are putting their lives into it.

Though I wish there was a little more theatre friendly environment in the city. It’s almost like fighting a war to stage a play in any good auditorium. You need not only be creative enough to narrate a wonderful story but you also need to have deep pockets to book a decent auditorium. If you are able to do that, then comes the most difficult task of filling the auditorium! I think it’s more absurd than our plays that I have to pay 50-60k to book an auditorium for a night. The economics of theatre has pushed most of the full time theatre practitioner to workshops or teaching theatre in schools.

Nihal: Can you share a bit about the latest play you are working on?

Poster of Deepak’s latest offering: Animal Song

Deepak: In 2011, I experimented with a short play ‘Kutte’ (Dogs) in short and sweet Delhi, (10-minute theatre festival). The idea was to narrate a story with help of an actor and a musician. I was deviating from the standard path of actors also donning the hat of singers. It worked well and the play was nominated for 6 awards and finally bagged the best script award. Continuing on the same format, last year we staged 30 minute production ‘Majh’ (Buffalo), where love for country clashes with the love for buffalo. The play bagged good reviews but we staged it only once as I left on a personal journey. Now, I have added the 3rd story ‘Donkey’, which has 2 original compositions and 3 stories at the same time. We are exploring the concept of nation, religion along with concept of a Donkey.

The play has 5 original songs composed by quite a talented bunch of musicians. It is another interesting set of stories with a different style of narration. I find it difficult to write synopsis of the play compared to writing a play. I am not sure how to make it sound interesting. All that I can say is it is an experiment.

Nihal: What are the future plans of Shoelace Productions and Deepak Dhamija?

Deepak: Well, I was asked in a job interview way back, “What’s your long term plan?” And all that I could mutter was “In the long run, we are all dead”- still not sure if it was appropriate answer but it was definitely an honest reply at that moment. Can’t say about me but Shoelace was definitely born without a plan. And even today I don’t have any plan for Shoelace. If someone else has, I am not aware of it.

As of now it’s simple, when I meet a story which I feel like sharing with world, I just do it, provided I have money in the pocket to bear the expense. I think it brings immense joy to any storyteller when they share the story they want to share with the world. The day I will find a substitute activity for this joy, I will move on with or without shoelace (smiles).

This interview was first published in My Theatre Cafe on May 14, 2014

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NAYA PATA: Wave of Independent Crowd Funded Cinema

Ideally a filmmaker should not be bothered about the commercial aspect of the film which he/she works hard to turn into reality. But It is a sad reality that commercial aspects bother the artists, especially the newer lot. Be it a poet, painter or any other artist. Cinema is a technical form of art, where cost is involved in producing the end product- and the cost varies. The commercial aspect of this art form may be one of the many reasons why we have lesser filmmakers in our part of the world and why we see more businessmen and fewer artists in the film industry which this country boasts of.

A poster designed by Aseem Trivedi, friend of Naya Pata

“Naya Pata” a film by Pawan Shrivastava, comes as a pleasant surprise in this scenario. The feature film is a result of not only hard work of the director and his dedicated team but also of the numerous people who produced it. Rather than depending on one person to produce, Pawan depended on many people to produce. The film is a result of crowd funding. Made in a budget of Eight Lacs and goodwill of various people, the film must be seen as a part of the struggle where many storytellers are trying to share their honest stories with the larger audience.

Our part of the world has overemphasized the problem of lack of stories. A society which is ever changing cannot lack stories at any given point of time. It is the lack of medium to reach out to people which needs the attention. It is sad that a society is accustomed to a certain kind of cinema. It is also sad that we have stopped accepting newer ideas of storytelling as audiences.

Friends of Naya Pata informing Delhi about the first Public Screening

The question which comes forward at this point is what can be the future course of action for the filmmakers who have an alternate story to share? Who do not see themselves as a member of any particular ‘gang’ of filmmakers- the Kashyaps, Banerjees or Johars? Does crowd funding has the longevity which a filmmaker desires? Crowd funding will certainly have its pros and cons. But it can be developed into a serious platform from where new filmmakers can showcase their talent to more and more people. Being independent has its own charm- as a storyteller you never compromise on your ideas.

Naya Pata, which will also see its first public screening at Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Center on January 2, 2014, brings hope to not only many filmmakers but to audience at large who want to listen to newer, unconventional stories.

Let us hope there is a more vibrant film culture in the New Year!

Screening of Naya Pata:

When: 7pm Onward, January 2, 2014

Where: Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Center, Delhi

Event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/192428724281825/

Film Page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NayaPata

This article was first published in My Theatre Cafe on January 1, 2013

Permalink:http://mytheatrecafe.com/naya-pata-wave-of-independent-crowd-funded-cinema

Saanjha Sapnaa is back with the tale of Medea

On December 16, 2013 Delhi will witness the completion of a year around the unfortunate rape case- a year of protest, a year of shattered hopes and a year of failed dreams. At a time when society as a whole has failed to ensure women safety it is time for the artists to take the issue forward. Saanjha Sapnaa Theatre Group is performing ‘Medea’ a Greek Tragedy by Euripides, in Delhi this weekend.

Medea is a one of the greatest stories ever told- the scorching tale of passion, love and vengeance. Based upon the myth of Jason and Medea, the play was first produced in 431 BC. When her husband remarries, Medea lays plans for swift and terrible retribution, leaving catastrophe in her wake. In this exciting and masterfully written drama of injured love, the play remains enthralling centuries after its creation. The play tells the story of the revenge of Medea betrayed by her husband.

The play has been directed by Kanchan Ujjal Singh for Saanjha Sapnaa Theatre Group. When asked why she chose ‘Medea’ to perform, Kanchan replies, “I have always been interested in the feminist work. Medea has a different genre- it is a Greek tragedy. It is a kind of play which is portraying woman as a strong character. I loved the story of Medea. It raises question on social structure as well as marriage system. I don’t think anybody else has done Medea as a full length play in last 10-15 years in Delhi. This play is relevant in our times as well as the male chauvinistic authority still exists. My work is a strong answer to them. For me woman is not a weaker/second sex. We are performing on 14 and 15 December- just before the Delhi rape case took place last year. I think before we talk about rape we should address the mail dominated structure.”

Kanchan takes a strong stand while discussing the kind of theatre she is interested in and the kind of plays which interests her and her theatre group. “As a group”, says Kanchan, “Saanjha Sapnaa always tries to do different type of theatre. We always had a bent towards socially relevant theatre. We have been doing feminist theatre for a while- we did Orgasm, Nine Parts of Desire, female version of The Odd Couple. This play is an addition to the other plays. We try to put serious work where everybody else is showcasing comedy.”

My Theatre Cafe wishes the entire team a good luck with the production of Medea.

About the production:

Cast:

Sonamm Sharma

Adhiraj Sharma

Tushar Dhaundiyal

Pallav Chander

Varoon P.Anand

Dimple kaur

Nitika Arora

Devyani sharma

Directed by Kanchan Ujjal Singh

Venue: Akshara Theatre

When: 14 &15 Dec at 6:00pm and 7:30pm (Sat, Sun)

Tickets for the performances are available online at:

http://in.bookmyshow.com/plays/Medea/ET00018845

This preview was first published in My Theatre Cafe on December 12, 2013

Permalink: http://mytheatrecafe.com/saanjha-sapnaa-is-back-with-the-tale-of-medea

Theatre Review: Baawla- A Poetic Take on the Era We Live In

Seldom have we come across beautiful and sensible poetry, lesser in theatre. There is no blinking to the fact that there are nice poets all around us, but very few of them make use of the poems in a meaningful manner as Raghav Dutt does. “Baawla” is a play which must be remembered for its simple yet striking craft, beautiful dialogues and the critical analysis of the society which it does.

Written and directed by Raghav Dutt, Baawla has been been produced by Rangbaaz Group. The play was performed at the India Habitat Center, Delhi and the Epicenter, Gurgaon on 29th, 30thNovember and 1st December 2013. The Mumbai based group gave the theatre lovers from Delhi something which is missing in the city- original theatre.

The play captures extremely innocent moments from our lives and simply puts it on stage. The honesty in the script is all pervasive. People who have followed Manav Kaul can understand that Raghav has worked with Manav, and still makes a difference. There is a point when one can clearly see that Raghav has his own style which is different from Manav kaul, and with time he will certainly make his own way as an original writer and director.

The play is a simple story of Raghu. Raghu, an innocent boy, witnesses a transformation from being a Hindu to being a Musalman. This journey explores the violent realities of our society and how a child’s psyche is affected by the “religion” he is part of. Raghu finds solace in poetry, and becomes “Baawla”. A beautiful poem from the play sums up what Raghav must have tried to convey,

“Jab Main Hindu Tha, Mujhe Sab Musalman Dikhte The

Jab Main Musalman Tha, Mujhe Sab Hindu Dikhe

Ab Main Baawla Hoon, Aur Mujhe Sab Baawle Dikhte Hain”

The play deserves applause for the brilliant light design. The show at Epicenter, Gurgaon had extremely beautiful light design and there were few moments which were as perfectly framed on stage. Raghav’s direction also deserves applause as he beautifully creates scenes which look effortless. The effortless scenes add to the beauty of the play.

It is good to know that we have younger writers who are reacting to the era they are living in and not addressing the questions of the bygone era. Disconnect between the stage and the real world has already been seen. It is high time the thespians discover their own truth.

 

This review was first published in MyTheatreCafe.com on December 2, 2013

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http://www.mytheatrecafe.com/baawla-a-poetic-take-on-the-era-we-live-in/

“Visual Arts Vala Adda”: Time to Explore Visuals amidst Nature!

Imagine an “adda” amidst nature dedicated purely to visual arts- a gathering where you see, visualize and feel the world as it is, a gathering to explore visual arts- to understand it. Imagine a gathering where a photographer, a cinematographer and a painter come together to explore their understanding of visuals. Do not imagine- become a part of it!

Camp Temgarh: Venue for the Adda

Presented by the people who are behind the MAFIA gatherings (MAFIA stands for Musicians, Artists, Film-makers, Interesting-Log Aajao: www.facebook.com/groups/creativemafia) VAVA or ‘Visual Arts Vala Adda’ promises to be one of its kind of gathering in the country. The idea of bringing visual artists together with the simple understanding that something interesting will certainly emerge out of the gathering, is what makes it more intriguing.

A VAVA Poster designed by Aditya Chavan

The First edition of VAVA will witness three extremely eminent visual artists, Ritesh Meshram, Nitesh Mohanty and Sudheer Palsane, who will be celebrating visuals along with the other participants. Ritesh Meshram is a painter and sculptor, Nitesh Mohanty is a designer and still photographer and Sudheer Palsane is a cinematographer. The idea behind the gathering, as shared by Gurpal Singh, the brain behind the informal gathering, is that the artists ‘will interact and will share with us, their works, their ideas, their inspirations. We would have paints; brushes etc for people who want to explore their artistic side [as well]’.

Like other MAFIA gatherings this will also be an informal intimate gathering where strangers will meet to become friends for life. VAVA has been scheduled in Camp Temgarh, village Watunde, which is located just over an hour drive away from Pune on the Lavasa road. Spread over 3 days, VAVA will ensure that the participants feel the beautiful world of the visual arts and draw a beautiful picture of life, as it is.

Road to Visual Arts Vala Adda!

What: VAVA (Visual Arts Vala Adda)

When: From December 6, 2013 to December 9, 2013

Where: Camp Temgarh, Village Watunde

For more details and participation procedure visit the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/623707411018768/

Or contact Rajan Anand, on 0942251608 / rajananand10@gmail.com

Aa Jaao!

This article was first published in MyTheatreCafe.com on November 21, 2013

Permalink: http://www.mytheatrecafe.com/visual-arts-vala-adda-time-to-explore-visuals-amidst-nature/

Stage Play Competition at IIT Delhi’s Rendezvous 2013- Day 3

Day 3 at the stage play competition of IIT Delhi’s Rendezvous 2013 saw zenith of excitement and energy in all the participating teams. The reason being the obvious as it was the Result Day!

The 3 day long Stage play concluded on Sunday, 20th October 2013. The final day also witnessed two performances from very energetic Dyal Singh College and the host team IIT Delhi. Dyal Singh College performed Manav Kaul’s ‘Mamtazbhai Patangwale’ whereas IIT Delhi performed an original script written by the students themselves ‘Picture Perfect’.

Performances:

Mamtazbhai Patangwale by Dyal Singh College, Delhi University

Manav Kaul’s literary genius could be seen in Mamtazbhai Patangwale. The play has an abstract form, like many other plays by Manav. The play revolves around the childhood of Bikki, who is a passionate ‘patangbaaz’ and considers Mamtazbhai as his hero. His idea of heroism breaks when he realizes that Mamtazbhai has a normal life like any other person. It is too difficult for him to accept the fact that Mamtazbhai sells kites for his livelihood. What follows is an interesting tale by Manav Kaul.

In the Dyal Singh College’s version, Mamtzbhai Patangwale loses the nuances which Manav has given life to in the script. Though the college team does a justice to the design and direction, but acting by the actors was not upto the mark.

Picture Perfect by IIT Delhi

The original script by IIT Delhi tried to explore the philosophy of evil and tries to explore the different interpretation of it. The story revolves around the life of a Psychologist Anurag, who interviews different criminals only to explore what they think. After one such interaction with Ekant Naidu, who is to be hanged the next morning, everything changes about Anurag. The ‘virus of evil’ enters the life Anurag and creates unimaginable situations!

The play starts with a very low energy but picks up later. The actors tried to do justice to their characters but fail to deliver what was needed to make it a great play. The presentation was also marked with long pauses and too long change over duration.

The Winners:

After the 3 day long competition the jury announced the results.

Best Play:

A scnen from Nitthalle Ki Diary Photo Courtesy: IIT Delhi

Nitthalle Ki Diary by CCET, Chandigarh

Andhe Hain Hum by PCTE, Ludhiana (Runner-Up)

Blind Spot by Gargi College, DU (2nd Runner-Up)

Best Direction:

Nitthalle Ki Diary by CCET, Chandigarh

The Nerd by SRCC, DU (Runner-Up)

Best Design:

Mamtazbhai Patangwale by Dyal Singh College

Best Actor:

Character of ‘Ramsevak’ from Nitthalle Ki Diary and Character of ‘Bhola’ from Andhe Hain Hum’

Best Actress:

Character of ‘Pregnant Woman’ from Blind Spot and Character of ‘Wife’ from Nitthalle Ki Diary

Special Mention Best Story:

Picture Perfect by IIT Delhi

This article was first published in My Theatre Cafe on October 22, 2013

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Stage Play Competition at IIT Delhi’s Rendezvous 2013- Day 2

The second day of the stage play competition at IIT Delhi’s Rendezvous 2013 resumed from where we have stopped a day before. The selected teams which cleared the preliminary round performed for the final competition. Out of six teams, four teams performed on Day 2 and two teams were asked to perform on October 20, 2013- making the stage play competition stretch to Day 3, which we shall report here as well.

The teams which performed on day 2 were PCTE Ludhiana, Gargi College, SRCC and CCET Chandigarh. All the plays were extremely well received by the students of IIT Delhi who also acted as a wonderful audience.

Performances:

‘Andhe Hain Hum’ by Punjab College of Technical Education

The play Andhe Hain Hum is written by Dr Sahib Singh and talks about the status of blind beggars in the society. It is a satire on the present society which ridicules handicap and gives importance to the people who essentially do not worth it. They play tries to explore a lot of problems present in the society through the ‘eyes’ of the blind beggars.

The two beggars Shekhu and Bhola live near a bus stand of Ambala and while away time by weaving different stories to entertain them. They make stories for each other to support their loneliness. Both of them had been ridiculed by their own families and have taken refuge near the bus stand as beggars. In a dramatic development Bhola meets a small girl Neha, who is very rich but lacks love in her life from her own family, suggesting that money cannot buy love. She looks for love from Bhola uncle. Shekhu, who always wanted to become a rich man tries to save money to buy a lottery ticket. But they meet an old man who does not have money to reach his home as his own son has not accepted him. Shekhu gives him his savings- part of his dreams- to reach his home.

They play was laced with outstanding live music- credit of which goes to the wonderful singer in the team. The play at times appeared to be preachy and had an outsider view into the lives of the beggars.

‘Blind Spot’ by Gargi College, Delhi University

The play establishes the various stages of a person’s mind after trauma leading into insanity- from denial, to becoming crazy, to finally giving in to the urge of madness. The 6 characters in the play share their experiences with the audience which the society understands as ‘crazy’. The 6 women include a rape victim, an agoraphobic woman, an old star stuck in the time, a woman who believes she is 11 months pregnant, a girl who believes she is being stalked and a hypochondriac.

A scene from the play Blind Spot

The actors tried to portray all the characters with as honesty as possible but looked struggling with the space given to them on the stage. The performance was decent but lacked nuances. The actress who performed the character of the supposed pregnant woman did justice to her character.

‘The Nerd’ by Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University

The Nerd is a comic tale of young architect Ayaan who is monotonous and hopeless. On his birthday his friend and girlfriend plan a surprise party which is crashed by quirky characters descends into a night of total ruin. He loses his job and happens to host two unwanted guests Jamnadas Parekh and Jhingur who live in his house for coming days. He and his friends plan every bit to make them leave the house, but they do not. Many interesting developments follow only to give a happy end to the play.

What this play lacked was a storyline. The actors did justice to their characters and there were few nice comic moments as well. The audience of IIT loved the performance and showed it through a full house and continuous claps.

‘Nithalle Ki Diary’ by Chandigarh College of Engineering and Technology

Nithalle Ki Diary is an adaptation from series of short stories by one of India’s finest satirist Harishankar Parsai. Haria is a caricature of a village boy, indecisive to any profession and hence choosing to be a village idler. The plot is a portrayal of various chapters from his diary. Each chapter is a sarcasm on the myriad aspects of our inefficient public administration system. The drama highlights the deteriorating ethics, corruption, and the superstition prevalent in the present society. It represents the way our narrow understanding of religion makes us less unaware of the world as it is.

The play was a classic example of using a bare stage as a set in itself and making it a property for actors. The design of the play was brilliant. The play starts with a high energy and involves the audience with the songs and subsequent comic sequences. The play uses the classical ‘nautanki’ style of Indian theatre and does justice to it. The acting was far above the bar set by other actors with the character Ram Sewak taking away all the love of the audience by imitating multiple mythological characters in his act. The best part of the play was the fact that it starts on a light note, raises all the valid political questions and takes the drama to an extremely serious and sensible end. The IIT Delhi students loved the play and it was evident from their continuous claps and hooting!

The day three will witness the remaining two performances from Dyal Singh College and IIT Delhi, as well as announcement of various prizes.

This article was first published in My Theatre Cafe on October 20, 2013

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Stage Play competition at IIT Delhi’s Rendezvous 2013- Day 1

IIT Delhi is known from producing one of North India’s biggest Annual College festival Rendezvous, where thousands of students from multiple colleges come to explore the ‘fun’ side of the college life. The fun which the festival offers to the students is to be cherished for a long time. This writer too has his nostalgic moments at Rendezvous! This year’s stage play competition saw a wide range of performance from the theatre groups of various colleges from North India- just like any other year!

The stage play competition at IIT Delhi is divided into two parts- Prelims and Finals. Different colleges have to perform a maximum 15 minute portion from their play in the preliminary round and if selected they get to perform the entire play in the finals in the Seminar Hall of IIT Delhi, which can be termed as a decent auditorium as well! The preliminary round took place on October 19, 2013 between 6:30pm to 11:30pm. A total of 13 teams from 12 colleges participated in the competition. Six teams were selected to perform in the final round of the stage play competition- scheduled on October 20, 2013- 7pm onward in the Seminar Hall.

The teams and the Plays:

1. Kamla Nehru College, Delhi performed Godavari- an adaptation of Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’.

The short presentation of the play could not meet the expectation of what one expects from a Samuel Beckett adaptation. The play very interestingly adapted an all-girl avatar contrary to Beckett’s all male version.

2. Shivaji College, Delhi performed ‘Kutte’.

The play could nicely deliver the inner conflict of a widow and a salesman in a remote village. The short presentation could highlight few good performances as well.

3. Gargi College, Delhi performed ‘Blind Spot’.

A scene from the play ‘Blind Spot’

The play was a tale of the so called ‘crazy people’. The play delivered the idea that what often appears for the world may not be what actually the ‘crazy people’ think or feel. Different individuals have different stories to share, which may not be shared at many occasions.

4. Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology, Delhi performed a self-scripted play ‘Pagdandi’.

The play shared the story of an old couple in a village in Uttar Pradesh, and the father’s relation with his son.

5. Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi performed ‘The Nerd’.

The play was a tale of a surprise party which takes few interesting turns and results in even more surprises for the characters! The play had few nice comic moments, slapstick in nature.

6. Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, Delhi performed ‘Six Characters in Search of an Author’ by Luigi Pirandello and ‘Peele Scooter Waala Aadmi’ by Manav Kaul.

A scene from the play ‘Six Characters in Search of an Author’

Both the plays belonged to great playwrights in their own respect, but sadly, the college theatre group could not match the expectations.

7. Delhi Technical University, Delhi performed ‘Fandi’.

The play shares a story of a truck driver who is jailed for the charge of the murder of his own father, whom he once loved so much. The actor who performed the character of Fandi did a great job, and was as real as possible.

8. NIEC, Delhi performed ‘The strange Case of Doctor J.’

The play presented a story of a scientist who is obsessed with his findings. They presentation failed to communicate well with the audience.

9. PCTE, Ludhiana performed ‘Andhe Hain Hum’.

A scene from the play ‘Hum Andhe Hain’

The play was a tragic tale of two blind beggars in Ambala, who discuss their mundane life with each other. The play was beautifully laced with live music and brilliant acting. The play was able to raise many questions, though it appeared a bit preachy at times as well.

10. Dyal Singh College, Delhi performed Manav Kaul’s ‘Mamtazbhai Patangwaale’.

A scene from the play ‘Mamtazbhai Patangwaale’

Mamtazbhai Patangwaale is Manav Kaul’s most cherished work and is loved by all. The college team did justice to the brilliant script.

11. IIT Delhi performed ‘Picture Perfect’.

The host team presented a decent play in form of ‘Picture Perfect’. The play was marked by good acting of IIT Delhi students.

12. CCET, Chandigarh performed ‘Nitthalle Ki Diary’.

The team from Chandigarh started with a bang. The play which had a flavour of the ‘nautanki’ style did strike the chord with the audience with its comic pieces.

The finalists:

The teams which were selected to perform in the final round on October 20, 2013 were:

Gargi College

Shri Ram College of Commerce

PCTE Ludhiana

Dyal Singh College

CCTE, Chandigarh

IIT Delhi (in a special performance)

Best wishes to all the competing teams!

This article was published in My Theatre Cafe on October 19, 2013
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The Company Theatre is celebrating 20 Years of excellence- an interview with Atul Kumar

Twenty years must be a long time- a long time to walk the journey of creating newness, of living excitement, of listening to claps and expressing yourself the way you want to. It has been a journey worth celebrating for The Company Theatre, which was founded by ace theatre person Atul Kumar in 1993. Here Atul shares his memories and vision for the celebration called The Company Theatre.

Nihal: Twenty long years of a journey called The Company Theatre! Who better than you can describe it, Atul. How would you like to sum up these twenty years?

Atul: 20 years full of excitement, life, ups and downs, but no regrets- only gratitude to hundreds of fellow artists and thousands of audience members all over the world, especially people who believed in our madness and joined hands in some way or the other.

Nihal: Which is that one moment which comes to your mind when somebody says ‘The Company Theatre’?

Atul: When I was sitting with Raza Sahib (the great Indian Artist) in Paris once at his flat and he was very angry with me that I did not chose a name that was Indian or Hindi for that matter- that I chose a name that reminded him of the British occupation! I could not say anything to him… I just went numb!

A scene from ‘Piya Behrupiya’, much acclaimed production of TCT

Nihal: In past decade or two you have occasionally collaborated with Rajat Kapoor as an actor and also as a director. How has it been working with Rajat, who is also your old friend, and also other friends?

Atul: Not only Rajat, but all artists one works with in TCT, are my friends. I don’t think it is now possible for me to work with people only professionally and not have an emotional personal bond with them. That is why we don’t really audition. We allow everyone to join us and then whoever becomes a part of the family and on whom we can trust and keep faith and agree to fail with, becomes a part of the family. So its not only Rajat, it’s many-many more people who are first friends then fellow artists. And to work and make theatre with friends is always a big party!

A scene from ‘Noises Off’ by TCT

Nihal: Is Atul Kumar a voracious reader as well? If yes, then what does he loves to read and what was the last book he read?

Atul: I used to read voraciously. No more. Now I watch a lot of cinema. I read a lot of non-fiction and mostly books on theatre. My most favorite these days and the last one is ‘An Actor’s Tricks’ by Yoshi Oida.

Nihal: Was there a plan ever in your mind when you were in college to create a workspace as you have created one in Kamshet? Was Kamshet accidental or well planned?

Atul: It has been a dream since last 15 years or more. I think it was always well planned. Only plans don’t go as they are planned. So lots of compromises and obsessive chasing the dream, but voila- it is finally there!

Nihal: What are your future plans for The Company Theatre? Can you tell us about the plays you plan to direct in the coming time for TCT?

Atul: We are working on the idea of Heer, also on Midsummer Night’s Dream, then again playing with the idea of object theatre and Haroun and the Sea of Stories- and a thousand more plays and texts and ideas which will only remain ideas in the life time!

This interview was first published in My Theatre Cafe on September 21, 2013

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Theatre Review: 'Hamlet- Rajat Kapoor has a different interpretation'

The Bard’s Hamlet must have been performed numerous times around the globe. There is no blinking to the fact that it is one of the most known tragedies written in the literary world, and certainly it has been a dream role for many actors for centuries. Now imagine the tragic character of Hamlet being performed by a clown! This is where the known film and theatre personality Rajat Kapoor brings a different interpretation- Hamlet, the Clown Prince.

Atul Kumar as Hamlet

Hamlet, the Clown Price has been performed by the Cinematograph, Rajat Kapoor’s theatre group, for numerous times in the past, and the group performed again at Delhi’s Kamani Auditorium between September 5 and September 7, 2013. The play, which is supposedly a comic interpretation of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark’ is difficult to imagine. How can you interpret Hamlet in a ‘funny’ manner, with an all clown show? Even if one does, can one really do justice to the tragic character of Hamlet? The answer is a big YES! Rajat Kapoor’s version of Hamlet is one of the finest examples of taking Indian theatre to the global standards. The best part of the play is the actors. Only an ensemble like this can put a show so brilliantly as this. The cast includes Atul Kumar, Kalki Koechlin, Sujay Saple, Neil Bhoopalam, Namit Das and Puja Sarup. The play is in Gibberish and occasional English. The highlight of the play is the interpretation of Hamlet by the clowns, monologues and the witty interactions with the audiences!

Only clowns can turn a four hour long tragic drama into a two hour beautiful comic piece. But the play still never loses its soul. Atul Kumar, who plays the character of Hamlet, manages to bring forth the emotions and turmoil through which Hamlet, the character, must have gone. The audience can feel the emotions, and just when you start empathising with Hamlet, the Clown in Atul breaks that emotion and gives a reason to laugh loud. As a matter of fact the other actors are also at par with Atul. Neil Bhoopalam is superb as Claudius and, of course, as the clown which he plays. At times you feel you are watching a Tom and Jerry show, and at times the actors take you to a different world where anything is possible on stage. And one needs to watch this beautiful piece of art to understand the magic it creates.

Hamlet, the Clown Prince is something which must not be missed by anybody. You do not need to read the original Hamlet by the Bard to understand this clown show. After all clowns are there to make you understand everything- everything which the logical human mind cannot understand.

Do not miss this play the next time it visits your city- doesn't matter if you have seen it earlier or not.

This review was first published in My Theatre Cafe on September 9, 2013

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Theatre Review: ‘Post Mortem’ by St. Stephen’s: Dario Fo given a new interpretation

There is no blinking to the fact that Delhi University still has one of the most vibrant University theatre culture, and various colleges put shows which can very well be compared to the supposedly professional theatre productions in the country. The productions by undergraduate students may lack certain nuances, but then this is the time when one must commit mistakes.

A scene from the play

The Hindi Dramatics society of St. Stephen’s College, The Shakespeare Sabha, presented ‘Post Mortem’, an adaptation of Dario Fo’s ‘Accidental Death of An Anarchist’ in the college Auditorium on August 23, 2013. The director claimed that it was Amitabh Shrivastava’s version, but this audience doubt this claim and feel the director and the entire team had helped in bringing out the Stephanian version of the play! There were few fundamental differences in this version and the play written by Dario Fo few decades back.

The play is set in modern day Delhi and the famous manic of Dario Fo, plays the different characters in the Police Station of Chanakyapuri. The play, being a college production, was full of college humor spread across the presentation, which at times gave few reasons to smile. The director of the play, Rahul Jain, cleverly used various dramatic tools to enhance the beauty of the play. The production saw many tools of alienation used by the director. The director intentionally broke the fourth wall at various points to tickle the audience. At times I felt many of those could have been done away with to add the element of ‘Crispness’ in the play. Initially the play was able to bring out the soul of Dario Fo, but towards the end it simply lost it.

Accidental Death of an Anarchist is essentially a political play and raises many relevant questions which are apt for our part of the world as well. But there is a difference between being ‘preachy’ and being ‘subtle’. Post Mortem was preachy. The soul of the play lies in being subtle rather than superficially romanticizing it. An adaptation is a tricky area to play in. One needs to understand the political stand which Dario Fo wanted to establish in the play, which the college group portrayed as an Ultra Left motive. Theatre when combined with activism can be beautiful, but then theatre has its own craft. The director wanted to raise so many issues in one play, which stole the essence of the original play as well. But then we all want to say so much in our Undergraduate days!

A scene from the play

There was a particular point during the change of scene, when the stage managers were changing the set and the voice over gave the audience an understanding of what ‘Theatre of Reality’ means, which was not required. These jargons are not for the audience, and they’d enjoy more without them. It may say that it was to while away the time of the audience, but then whatever you do on stage is never to while away the time!

The St. Stephen’s version of the play takes a very strong political stand against the status quo, which must be appreciated. But it was so obvious that it lost its impact. Towards the end of the play, after listening to the unnecessary and long discussion regarding RTI and romanticizing the Naxal movement, one felt it was a mediocre performance by a particular student political wing of an ‘Ultra Left’ organization (which the protagonist himself says!). But if I remove certain parts then it wasn’t a mediocre performance at all.

The actors were pretty decent and did a great job indeed. Soutik Banerjee who played fanatic did justice to his character, but he was too refined to appear as Fo’s fanatic to me. Mutahhar Amin who played the character of Inspector Khan stole the show as an actor. Another actor Saif Rashid who otherwise had a small character to play did justice to it. Divya Kapur as the journalist Fatima Abbasi lacked physical stability on stage and her unnecessary movements simply deviated the strong points which her character was dying to put! Others actors did a good job. The play also saw a very good stage set up.

The weakest link of the play, which any Dario Fo admirer could not accept, was the interpretation that the maniac was a journalist from Tehelka, who may be on his another sting operation! There is a reason why everybody loves maniac of Fo. This interpretation which came only as a shock must have been avoided.

A scene from the play

Though the play, it seemed had a very romantic notion about the violent history of the Naxal movement, was only able to deliver the age old logics and obsolete debates. It was good to see that a Delhi University college theatre group was taking relevant issues with great enthusiasm. It is only the educational institutions where one can talk about serious political issues using theatre as a tool, sadly not the professional theatre circuit.

The team deserves more than applause for putting a brave show.

This review first appeared in My Theatre Cafe on August 26, 2013

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Theatre Preview: Experience the ‘Nine Parts of Desire’ in Delhi

Poster of the play ‘Nine Parts of Desire’

Saanjha Sapna, the Delhi based theatre group is all prepared to present its latest production “Nine Parts of Desire” on August 24 and August 25 at Akshara Theatre in the National Capital. The play has been directed by Kanchan Ujjal Singh.

The play is essentially based on the 1994 non-fiction book by Australian Journalist Geraldine Brooks on her experiences and time spent among the Muslim women of the Middle East. In her book, the author tries to explore the major issues concerning not only the idea of desire but goes beyond it and talks about critical cultural practices related to oppression of women.

The play is an attempt to understand the issues raised by Geraldine in her book. The director of the play, Kanchan Ujjal, when asked why she chose this play to direct, says, “Since the time when I first read the script, I knew this is the story I wanted to tell. The plight of women all around the world is same, be it Iraq or India. Women are constantly in a state of argument and fight for liberation. All these 9 stories and 9 women are a study in contrast, but they cohere to form a powerful collective collage of suffering and tolerance. They demand the world to stop and look at them, after all women are not the second sex, they are HUMAN.”.

Kanchan Ujjal Singh

The play will see an ensemble of an all women team coming together to strongly put what it is to be like a women in a “man’s world”! When asked how it was to work with an all woman cast, Kanchan says, “Working with all female cast is a soul strengthening experience. We had such intense and long Discussions while researching for the play. It is a beautiful yet complex to direct women. It was a web of nine different mindsets, who came together to tell their story to the world. Their strength grows 9 times, so now they are more hard hitting than ever.” Kanchan believes the strong women cast will portray Iraq realistically. She adds, “Audience will feel as if the female half of Iraq has come to India. Its intense and persuasive precisely making its point through 9 women, each telling her story, stories of Hostility, Revolution, Freedom, Suffering, Love, Innocence, Loss, Helplessness and Hope. All 9 women are 9 mirrors reflecting into the psyche of women in a male dominant World.”

We at My Theatre Cafe wish Saanjha Sapna all the glory ahead!

When: August 24 and 25

Where: Akshara Auditorium, Baba Khadak Singh Marg, CP

Time: 6pm and 8pm on both days

Tickets available at Bookmyshow.com

This preview first appeared in My Theatre Cafe on August 21, 2013

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Movie Review: ‘OUATIMD’- A blunder of the highest order

Let me confess- I went for Once Upon Ay Time in Mumbai Dobaraa!

I had read all the reviews about it but still thought of giving it a try. I had seen the earlier part of the film which I liked to a certain extent, have seen Dirty Picture by the same director and the producers. But after watching this film I seriously doubt their earlier work as well.

OUATIMD is the finest example of the lamest artists on the planet. As a matter of fact I tried enjoying the film given the price I had paid. But you cannot enjoy this film even if you intentionally keep your mind in the parking area of the multiplex- it is impossible to like this film! The “star cast” of the film is the weakest part of it. Akshay Kumar plays the most stupid gangster in the history of Hindi Film Industry. He has a notion about himself that he has a great sense of humor, which might be true for the person Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia, but not for the characters this actor has to play. He need not repeat the same joke with the same accent he has been repeating for almost two decades now. This needs to be criminalized under a particular section of the IPC.

Imram Khan, on the other hand, fails to surprise you with the onscreen stupidity he has been doing for some time now. It is hard for me to believe that he might be introducing himself as an actor to the new people he meets every day, which is not the case. He can be anything but an actor. If he is an actor then I am ready to die this very moment. Just for your interest he plays a petty gangster in the film, which for me looks like a case of worst casting in the history of mankind. How can a casting director think of him as a gangster, given the accent he has?

Sonakshi Sinha plays the character of a girl from Kashmir- the most fake Kashmiri you will ever see on screen. The moment she uttered her first dialogue I thought she is again playing a girl from Bihar, which she did in the last film with Akshay. But I was outraged to know that she is playing a character from Kashmir! Have these people not heard of character sketch? There is something called characterization which they fail to understand.

Ekata Kapur, it seems knew that it is a bad film of the highest order. That must be the reason of renaming the film twice. First it was called “Once Upon A Time in Mumbai Again”. She later replaced ‘Again’ with Dobaara. Later she added an extra ‘y’ to ‘A’ in the title- must be a suggestion from a ‘jyotish’. The matter of the fact is that you need to make a decent film. Even Harmun Baweja and Nisha Kothari have been changing their names for no use. They need to work hard rather than fooling people.

To end this article I would like to talk about the person who wrote the weirdest screenplay in the history of civilization. It comes as a letdown when we have seen the first part which reminded us of the Salim-Javed era of dialogues. I do not want to include the name if this screenplay writer in my article. He also wrote the lyrics of the film if I am not wrong. Let him know that he is not a poet. Even better he can never become a poet!

I am sure Imran Hashmi must be glad that he was not a part of the sequel!

This movie review first appeared in My Theatre Cafe on August 20, 2013

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