Tag: Yatri

Family Business ★★★★

A 20-minutes comedy play about a jobless MBA who is being persuaded by his father to join the family business.

This one-act play starts with a successful business man’s corporate AGM. This successful business tycoon was not born rich, though. As an young MBA graduate he failed to land a job for two years. All those two years, he was also being persuaded by his father to join the family business, which the protagonist didn’t want to.

This short comedy play tells the story of this young man, his passion, the family pressure and his eventual rise to riches – all in bite sized presentation of 20 minutes.

There are a few versions available online. There are minor differences between them with the dialogues. I would suggest 2017 version performed at Prithvi because of audio and video quality (link below).

2017, Open Stage, Prithvi Theatre2019

AglaPlay Verdict: A must watch, suitable for audience of all ages
AglaPlay Rating: 4.0/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: ~20 minutes
Writer: Om Katare
Director:  Om Katare
Cast: Rajesh & Others

Chinta Chhod Chintamani

Written by Vasant Kanetkar, the play revolves around the average middle-class family. Chintamani is the bread-earner of the family and the age is getting better of him. He is living with his wife, two sons and a daughter. His parents have also come to stay with him. The elder son wants to become a cricketer and does not focus on studies. The daughter follows a spiritual leader and decides to leave home. The other son wants to become an actor. Their career choices put them in cross with Chintamani’s hopes for his children. The parents and wife are not helping as they do not share Chintamani’s concerns.

Audience have an easy connect with the plot as all of us have had some experience with some Mr. Chintamani in our lives. The actors also perform well. However, the scenes are rather monotonous and the character of Chintamani is flat. The writing, though having semblance to real life situations, is just too plain. It is predictable, run-of-the-mill play where audience keeps on waiting for the punch which never really comes.

AglaPlay Verdict: Avoid
AglaPlay Rating: 1/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: 
Writer: Vasant Kanetkar
Director: Om Katare
Cast: Om Katare (Chintamani), 
Paromita Chatterjee, Keya Gupta, 
Mukund Bhatt, Vaibhav Joshi, 
Radha Bharadwaj, Prateek Pendharkar, 
Prashant Upadhaya, Puneet Maloo, 
Ashoke Sharmaa, Priyanka Basu - Kaul, 
Mukesh Yadav

Below are a few relevant links. The web links to other reviews are also provided for easy reference. Yatri’s 10 minute YouTube video [has spoilers] (top link) below summarizes the complete story and covers the major punchlines as well. 

Other Links
Chinta Chhod Chintamani Trailer [spoilers]
Chinta Chhod Chintamani Keya Gupta's act 
Vasant Kanetkar Wikipedia 
Om Katare Wikipedia
Review on TOI 
Review on BMS

Jeene Bhi Do Yaaron

The play begins where many in romantic genres (and sometimes romance too) ends – marriage. This hilarious play explores the married life. The couple portrayed by Pratik Pendharkar and Radha Bhardwaj are facing troubles in marriage, and bring their problems to the boy’s celibate elder brother. More complications are on the way as Divya’s elder sister also shows up. Do they forget the differences, or do they break-up?

The comic timings are excellent and Pratik Pendharkar shines in the role of the protagonist. However, the rest of the cast performs average at best. The play is written and directed by Om Katare, whose on-stage presence is overbearing at times. The character of the girl’s sister also annoys at moments. Direction is otherwise okay, and the story flows effortlessly. The use of lightening and sound effects is apt and supportive to the play.

I will recommend the play to couples. You will definitely have more than a few good laughs in the play. The play may be avoided if involves too much of time, money and travel for the reader. Mistake me not, this is a good play. It is just that there are better plays performed out there. 

AglaPlay Verdict: Good humor with excellent comic timings
AglaPlay Rating: 3.0/5
Language: Hindi
Duration: 2 hours
Writer: Om Katare
Director: Om Katare
Cast: 
Pratik Pendharkar (Husband)
Radha Bhardwaj (Wife) 
Om Katare (Husband's elder brother)
Sonam Singh (Wife's elder sister)

Please watch the trailer below. Do note that certain sections may not be appropriate for children. 

Other Links
Jeene Bhi Do Yaaron Trailer
Om Katare Wikipedia