Extramarital farces make for a good play, a novella or a film. The most powerhouse medium for such a genre is the theatre though, where the director, the script and the cast are tested for their ability to hold the audience mirth bound without offending anyone. Ashwin Gidwani Production's newest offering TWO TO TANGO THREE TO JIVE (T5J) falls into that slot. It's been 18 years since Saurabh Shukla was last seen on stage; so in a sense you can say that the play marks his return to theatre. Markedly a fine actor, writer and director with a calling for comedy, Shukla has also played outstanding character roles in cinema.
T5J is about one man's quest for an extramarital life. Parminder Sethi is a well settled, Delhi hotelier who is looking for excitement outside his comfort zone. Using his mother's apartment on the day she's out for her satsang, for his surreptitious rendezvous, he meets three women respectively. Waiting for his first arrival -- Shonali (Nigaar Khan) -- Parminder Sethi all suited and booted is like a nervous, excited young boy on his first date. As he arranges and rearranges the house, all the time imagining what the evening's going to be like, he is answering calls from his assistant. In walks a striking woman in a sari. Parminder, in his wildest dreams, couldn't have imagined that she would be so dressed up. While he is trying his best to be calm and casual about it, she's defensive, nervous and suspicious.
Their meeting is like two novices sparring in the ring and they part company on a sour note. In comes the glamour struck Rinky (Mona Vasu), who blows your socks off. Chameleon-like she changes moods and stories; name drops and besides stunning Parminder, who by now has doffed the coat and tie, she also grabs the audience's attention with her high energy and quick repartee. Savita (Preiti Mamgain) is the last one. Comparatively sober, quiet, depressed but very alert and suspicious. She questions, analyses and turns Parminder Sethi (who is now flaunting casuals) back to his life and family.
Director Saurabh Shukla couldn't have done better. Casting himself as Parminder Sethi, he showcases what a fine actor he is with impeccable timing and repartee. The three actresses are in themselves a study of perfect casting. Nigar Khan is outstanding as the withdrawn, but feisty Shonali. Preiti Mamgain is ideal as the sophisticated and cynical Savita. However, it is Mona Vasu's Rinky which sets the stage on fire with a dazzling, but wee over-the-top performance. The end credit is Saurabh Shukla's for finely matching all three co-actors in each segment; and his judicious direction. Delhi middle class hasn't been more mirthfully portrayed. The dialogues spiked with Delhi phrases are crisp and riotous. TWO TO TANGO THREE TO JIVE is a rock-and-roll entertainer. We hope Saurabh Shukla doesn't make us wait another 18 years.
Piroj Wadia is a film critic, journalist and copy consultant of long standing. She has been reviewing Hindi films for the Free Press Journal and international films for Screen. She has written extensively on television and films for Screen, Indian Express & Deccan Chronicle. Other papers she writes for are Midday, Afternoon Despatch & Courier, Jame-Jamshed Weekly. She has served on the jury for the ITA awards; and IDPA awards.
