Compilations of short stories based on a particular theme are often seen in the theatre. They allow for bigger casts, fast-paced storytelling and the freedom to switch easily between genres and styles. Thus, it seemed like the ideal format for a final performance by the group of students of the 'Parados to Stage' workshop organised by Rangshila.
ISHQ KE BAHANE CHAND AFSANE is a series of short stories dramatised for the stage and love is the theme that brings these stories together. The production is a mosaic of hits and misses. While some stories manage to strike a chord, others are unable to sustain interest easily.
The play begins with the group of actors bursting on to the stage as they prep themselves and bandy little jokes, waiting for "the show" to begin. With a few humble black cubes as a set, they go on to stage tales about love. The pace is sharp. Each story has its own narrator/s, giving us details about the events - as either the older self of the protagonist, the inner conscience, the friends who witnessed it happen, or in one case, just an unnamed man whose role in the tale we are never quite sure of.
The play starts off on a good note with strong ensemble energy and an easy flow from one story to another. The transitions between past and present, or from one location to another, that help take the story forward, aren't the most imaginative but good enough to prevent the play from dragging. The actors complement each other well in these short and sweet pieces, especially in "Ek Ladki Paheli Si" written by Omprakash Tiwari about the budding love between two students (Kunal K Duhar and Meghna Devchoudhury) at a typing institute. Meghana Devchoudhury as the burdened young woman displays an enjoyable tenderness. It would be nice to see more of Devchoudhury in the rest of the play as well.
The performance that stands out is by Errol Rodrigues. He plays a middle-aged man in "Prem Ki Biradari". Bruising from his ex-wife having run away with his Muslim friend, he is trying hard not to develop anti-Muslim sentiments when his old school flame, also a Muslim, calls him and begins reminiscing about past adventures. Rodrigues is a delight as a wry yet jovial aging man and commendably plays a Sardar without the loud Punjabi accent or any of the other repugnant tropes that usually accompany the extremely offensive portrayal of this sect on stage and on screen.
Precisely, after the culmination of this tale, the play begins to lose its initial rhythm and humorous warmth. As more and more stories pile on, many of them redundant or far less interesting than the ones preceding them, the production begins to meander and the audience is kept waiting for the odd dramatic moment or laugh. To say that the production requires editing would be an understatement. Running over three hours long, it soon begins to lose its loyalty to the theme, and starts to resemble a green and over indulgent high school production. The ishq ka bahana no longer justifies the lengthy afsane. The last two stories are needlessly stretched and the performances seem to be driven more by garnering laughs than portraying the truth of its characters. One of them, "Krantikari Ki Katha" frustratingly enough, has absolutely nothing to do with love whatsoever. If the group plans to take this production forward, they must cut it to at least half its running time and perhaps do away with a few stories altogether.
*Saudamini Kalra is a student of theatre and occasionally a poet.
ISHQ KE BAHANE CHAND AFSANE is a series of short stories dramatised for the stage and love is the theme that brings these stories together. The production is a mosaic of hits and misses. While some stories manage to strike a chord, others are unable to sustain interest easily.
