Look in thy glass, and tell the face thou viewest Now is the time that face should form another; Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest, Thou dost beguile the world.. ….
A face hides behind shadows. It seeks comfort in anonymity, Take away the beauty, and what the world sees in nothing. Not even a face. ‘Acid’ centers on the female protagonist Suvarna, who is victim to an acid attack. Three years later with several surgeries on her face, Suvarna sits in the darkness of her house and tries diligently to forget the evening that the incident occurred. Suvarna finds it difficult to cope with reality. Since the occurrence of the incident, she finds herself jobless. Her husband Kabir, views her differently because she is not as beautiful as she was before the attack. Slowly the story unwinds. We see a strained marriage, where the husband has no time for the wife. Step in Akhil, the new anchor of Suvarna’s show. Kabir Justifies Suvarna’s replacement with the explanation that Akhil will make the show look more masculine.
However, Suvarna thinks Akhil is a misfit and does not want her show to be anchored by Akhil. She challenges his honesty and loyalty towards his wife Pratima. Through the acid attack, we are given an insight into the lives of all three protagonists and how they affect each other. Writer Anupama Chandraskehar gives an insight into a woman’s mind, who is traumatized not only by the incident, but also by the behaviour of people around her. The story raises questions on individuality, beauty and changed attitudes. Suvarna knows her husband flinches when he sees her face. She even tells him at one point during the play to look at her face and not the space above it. Before the play starts, one thing that strikes the eye is the screen used on stage. It shows a woman adorning her self with make up and jewellery. This works very well because what is shown on the screen contradicts everything the play is trying to say. Or perhaps, it enhances the very meaning of the story. Acid raises several issues albeit subtly.
As audiences, we are kept away from the stage. We see a story being unfolded, but we are in no way a part of it. The stage setting is simple and props minimal. Jayati Bhatia, Zafar Karachiwala and Ranjan Kamath have given a very good performance. The director has taken full liberties with the script, which is good, as it does not restrict the development of the characters and allows the script to go beyond written words. However, the story is extremely powerful. Individual characters fade in comparison to the story. Throughout the play, there are blackouts and a voice hums a soft tune. Also, during various scenes, the screen on stage shows people walking randomly. Random faces, a crowd walking nowhere, seeing nothing and doing nothing. This is very symbolic because Suvarna never finds out who the culprit is. He is just another man that walks the street, lost somewhere in the crowd. The end is heightened as there is a spotlight on Suvarna and we see the catharsis of a woman who has been staying in her shadow for too long. Acid is an extremely well scripted and well-directed play and full credit must be given to the writer Anupama Chandrashekhar and director Quasar Thakore Padamsee.As a part of the Writers’ Bloc Festival, Acid is the fourth play of the festival that has been staged at Prithvi Theatre.
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