Review

POPCORN WITH PARSAI

Direction : Manoj Shah
Writer : Nilay Upadhyay
Cast : Dayashankar Pandey

POPCORN WITH PARSAI Play Review


Keyur Seta



 POPCORN WITH PARSAI Review

Manoj Shah's Ideas Unlimited is one theatre company that has a penchant for biographical plays that include mono acts. Over the last few years, the group has been regularly churning out this genre of plays - KARL MARX IN KALBADEVI, HU CHANDRAKANT BAKSHI, MOHAN NO MASALO, and others.

POPCORN WITH PARSAI


In POPCORN WITH PARSAI, it is about the famous Hindi writer Harishankar Parsai. Well-known actor Dayashankar Pandey plays the writer. Like previous biographical mono acts, this one too has a legendary figure having a candid conversation with the audience.

But unlike the Gujarati plays that Manoj Shah is known for, this one is in Hindi naturally. Parsai narrates his bittersweet experiences of life and at the same time, holds a mirror to our political class and society in this 80 odd minute performance.

The first prerequisite for a mono act is a watertight script that keeps the audience glued since only a single person is doing all the talking. POPCORN WITH PARSAI, written by Nilay Upadhyay, takes some time to warm up but once it progresses, it holds interest.

A specific feature about Shah's biographical mono acts is the continuous dose of humor. The humour can be sharp. It is also so with this play though a better punch towards the end could have created impact.

Although the play is a mono act, the popcorn trolley appears more as a character than a prop. It does not merely look 'cute' but is enabled by the philosophical nuggets being presented continuously. The use of light at the time when Pandey imitates Goddesses Laxmi and Saraswati, is a memorable feature.

Dayashankar Pandey is a fine actor and he succeeds. He plays diverse characters while getting the nuances right. This speaks for his versatility. He also makes sure the play doesn't go downhill at times when the script is not as strong. He makes POPCORN WITH PARSAI entertaining and thought provoking.

Keyur Seta is a freelance film and theatre journalist and a blogger. For him, life is a stage where we all play our respective characters.


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