Ek Mulaqat

The poetic play Ek Mulaqat (a rendezvous) explores relationship of two eminent authors of the era – Amrita Pritam and Sahir Ludhianvi. The unrequited love is presented through a fictional meeting between Amrita and Sahir at the terrace. They discuss the unspent moment, the content of the letters and the many challenges on their ways to be together. This is a biographical play where the lives of the characters is dramatized and presented in theatrical presentation, with many poems orated through the performance.

The characterization is detailed and both Deepti and Shekhar complement each other. The oration of the poems and songs is done extremely well. Instead of the Bollywood and popular versions, the play sticks to the original Urdu versions, which is tough to understand at many times. I can only imagine how tough it would have been for the performers to by-heart and orate them live with such intensity and emotions! Knowing Shekhar Suman from ‘Dekh Bhai Dekh’ fame, it was a mesmerizing and captivating experience for me. Dipti Naval was as flawless as ever.

This is an extremely well done piece of art and must be watched by those who have liked the duo’s literary works. In addition to giving a glimpse into the lives of the famous duo, the play also provides a rare opportunity to see two brilliant actors orating the iconic lines. The play would also intrigue those who are interested in understanding and feeling the society at large of the era – a lot of research must have gone in bringing alive the lives of the legends and it shows through the play. The duo talks not only about unrequited love, but also about the inequalities, Indo-Pak partition, marriage and more. And most importantly, all of it comes together beautifully as a complete package!

AglaPlay Verdict: An amazing experience, laced with beautiful Urdu poetry
AglaPlay Rating: 4.5/5
Language: Hindi / Urdu
Duration: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Writer: Saif Hyder Hasan, Somana Ahmed 
Director: S H Hasan
Cast: Shekhar Suman (Sahir),
Deepti Naval (Amrita)

Below are a few relevant links.

Other Links
Amrita Pritam Wikipedia
Sahir Ludianvi Wikipedia
A good read on the play at HT
A take on duo's relation

Ek Haan

The play attempts to explore the philosophy and thoughts of the controversial author Saadat Hasan Manto, one of the most controversial Urdu writers. It is post-partition era and Saadat is living in Pakistan now. A journalist is visiting from India to interview Saadat. She is intrigued by same questions as are the readers. Who is Manto? Was Manto only interested in cheap publicity? Did Manto know any of his characters personally? Why he wrote such vulgar and unsettling stories? And, more… The play also has acts where two of Manto’s stories are performed – Toba Tek Singh and Kali Salwar, while a small scene plays short piece of another story, Thanda Gosht.

Like Ek Mulaqat, Shekhar Suman again delivers a flawless dialogue delivery with passionate performances – as Manto, as Toba Tek Singh and short-scene where a couple’s relation is mimicked. Suchitra is also good but the role of interviewer has nothing much to offer till the end. Her portrayal of Sultana is well done. Stage is setup in a room in Manto’s house and the right part of the stage (left section of the image) also doubled as Sultana’s house and, the Lahore mental hospital.

Unlike Ek Mulaqat though, Ek Haan does not connect audience to Manto. Manto and his though process still remain enigma to me, even after watching the play. The short stories are performed well, but add little to central premise of the play. I also could not find any supporting evidences of the last scene. [Disclaimer: I do NOT know EVERYTHING, and I may well be wrong].

Overall it is an average play with good execution. The lighting is spot-on and there is the grandeur to the play. The singing by Rekha Bhardwaj is good to ears. That said, there are much better (biographical) performances, like Jauhar, Shabdleela, Ek Mulaqat… which one can choose to watch over this. 

AglaPlay Verdict: An average play with good execution
AglaPlay Rating: 3/5
Language: Hindi / Urdu / Punjabi
Duration: 1 Hour 30 Minutes (Approx., NO Interval)
Writer: Neha Kargeti 
Director: R R Roy
Cast: Shekhar Suman (Manto),
Suchitra Krishnamoorthi (Journalist),
Neha Kargeti (Anwari),
Amit Ghosh, Vikas Tiwari

Below are a few relevant links.

Other Links
Ek Haan Promo
Review at Mid-day
Manto Wikipedia

Mera Wo Matlab Nahi Tha

Mera Wo Matlab Nahi Tha – “I did not mean that” is the dialogue the central characters repeats many times, as every guy does in a relationship! The play is about two childhood lovers – Pritam and Hema – who could not marry each other due to circumstances. They meet after thirty-five years in a garden and walk down the memory lanes. There are so many things that needs to be shared between them, few secrets untold, and still, a present that they share in the morning hours sitting in the park. Far from being another tale of unrequited love, the play brings out different shades – their friendship, their bad memories, their prejudices and their trust in each other.

While the play has nothing new to offer on the topic-front, it treats it very well. It is also a must to watch for the performance of Anupam Kher. It is an absolute pleasure to watch Anupam Kher live. His acting acumen aside, his sheer energy on the stage moves the audience. Neena Gupta is dignified in her portrayal of Hema, but also excels in one of the very darkest performances, that shocks audience in post-interval. Cameo of Satish Kaushik through the multimedia is very funny! The write-director Rakesh Bedi has few guest appearances, unrelated to the main story. The dialogues, audio-visuals and the settings are apt to the play and are done aesthetically.

This otherwise a ‘good’ category play is transformed into something great and immensely enjoyable thanks to the stellar performances of the leads. The play borders on being a perfect family evening. Do note that few scenes (one scene in particular) can be hard for very young audience. It should be okay for 12+, though.

AglaPlay Verdict: A good play with amazing performances
AglaPlay Rating: 3.5/5
Language: Hindi 
Duration: 2 Hours (Approx.)
Writer: Rakesh Bedi 
Director: Rakesh Bedi
Cast: Anupam Kher (Preetam),
Neena Gupta (Hema),
Rakesh Bedi (Neighbour)
Satish Kaushik (On-Video, Preetam's relative)

Below are a few relevant links.

Other Links
About the Play by Anupam Kher [Do Watch]
Anupam Kher Wikipedia
Neena Gupta Wikipedia

Kashmakash

The play Kashmakash is a gibe at political hypocrisy and opportunism. The protagonist of the play is an honest poor book-binder who is living a hard life with his daughter and wife. In the moment of need, he approaches local politician for help. The politician suggests him to fabricate the story of being a freedom fighter and earn a pension. The poor soul, the hero of our story, agrees to it. The plot gradually unfolds to show the audience merriment, pangs of exploitation and inner-conflicts aka Kashmakash of the family.

The performances of all characters are laudable. The central character is played effortlessly by the common man of the 80s – Aanjan of Wagle Ki Duniya fame. But that is the least expected from seasoned cast of IPTA under the direction of Ramesh Talwar. What this play excels at is the story line. The situations and scenes are written extremely well and are matched perfectly with realistic presentation and paraphernalia. The feelings that the play evokes in the audience are almost palpable. The audience feels sad when for family’s poverty, but also shares the joy and pride of public felicitations.

A motley of all emotions, this one is for everyone! Also, if you have time, ‘Wagle Ki Duniya‘, a famous TV series from late 80s by R K Laxman. The episodes are available on YouTube.

AglaPlay Verdict: A very very good play
AglaPlay Rating: 4/5
Language: Hindi 
Duration: 2 Hours (Approx.)
Writer:  Debasis Majumdar, translation by Santwana Nigam 
Director: Ramesh Talwar
Cast:    Aanjjan Srivastav, 
Sulabha Arya, Avtar Gill, 
Neeraj Pandey/ Vignesh Sinkar, 
Manju Sharma, Ranjana Srivastava, 
Omprakash, Prashant padale, 
Rajeev Jha

Below are a few relevant links, including the YouTube link to Wagle Ki Duniya TV Series.

Other Links
Review at TribuneIndia
Wagle Ki Duniya Wikipedia
Wagle Ki Duniya YouTube

NCPA

Much more than a venue, National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) is a premier cultural institution of the country. It produces and partners in various performances which it hosts. With five auditoriums, an art gallery, a restaurant and landmark location of Nariman point, its elegance is second to none among Mumbai theatre venues.

Website: Official Website
Location: GoogleMaps
Parking Location: Parking is available free of cost to the guests. However, with five auditoriums, it gets full if your show is not the 3 PM one. The paid parking by Municipal corporation is available at 70 per hour, but for NCPA shows, they generally charge a pre-paid fixed amount of 100 or 120 irrespective of hours.
How to get there: NCPA location on Google Maps work fine. The place is reachable by Kaali-peeli, Uber, Ola.

Auditoriums:
Experimental Theatre
Godrej Dance Theatre
Jamshed Bhabha Theatre
Little Theatre
Tata Theatre

Things to Note:
– Have some time to spare after the show: It is always a relaxing experience to have a stroll around the promenade. The place is full of life and nice crowd even at late nights.
– If the best seats have gotten full: For Godrej Dance, Experimental and Little, fret not. These are very nicely done, small sized auditorium and there won’t be any issues. In fact, seats J13-14 (Godrej) and seats N 10-1, R 9-1 (Experimental) provide amazing view!

Also Explore:
– Cafe at the NCPA (0m)
– Marine Drive (0m)
– Rustom Jee Icecream (1300m)