Taj Mahal ka Tender

A period drama setup in corrupt times, this play is a satire on current bureaucratic system. Emperor Shah Jahan wants a memoir of love to be built for generations to remember his love. The bureaucracy has other plans, though. Hand-in-gloves with contractors, the bureaucrats milk the opportunity at the cost of the royal treasury. The question is if Taj Mahal will get built, or… not?

Different groups perform this play regularly across India. The full length videos of the play performed by various artists and groups are also readily available on YouTube. I watched IPTA’s first-rate performance with Avtar Gill (as contractor) and Rakesh Bedi in the cast. The execution of IPTA was flawless as always, which is expected from it with the tenured ensemble it has. It is always a delight to see IPTA’s troupe performing on a stage!

The plot does justice to the topic it picks up and showcases gradual ascend of greed in people. It also captures the gamut of possibilities of corruption in a government construction. Continued relevance and simplicity of the plot would be two strong pillars of the play’s performance anywhere.

That said, the plot lacks the content to hold the audience for 2 hours, which is regular run-time for the play. Audience may feel the play to be boring and over-stretched at times. The comic situations, which are either absurd or predictable, do not help much.

AglaPlay Verdict: Average play
AglaPlay Rating: 2.5/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: Approx. 2 hours
Writer: Ajay Shukla
Director: Salim Arif
Cast: Rakesh Bedi (bureaucrat),
Avtar Gill (contractor), 
Rajan Kapur / Bharat kapoor, 
Manju Sharma, Abhishek Srivastav, 
Pramod Dubey, Omprakash & others

Below are a few relevant links. The web links to other reviews are also provided for easy reference.

Other Links
Full Play by Swatantra Theatre Group
Review on Repaitxt
IPTA Mumbai Official Site 
Avtar Gill Wikipedia
Rakesh Bedi Wikipedia