Akvarious Productions� NAMAK MIRCH comes off as a convincing act in an era where thespians� convictions are still fogged with respect to what they want to portray. NAMAK MIRCH doesn�t carry any airs around it. Its actors confidently present a series of stories belonging to the immediate post-independence period. NAMAK MIRCH incorporates four stories by the famous Pakistani satirist Shaukat Thanvi- �Daulat Khaana�, �Be�, �Namak Mirch� and �Zara Tarannum Se�.
All four stories are a comment on how individual behaviour can turn out to be weird when confronted by unusual circumstances. Humour in these stories is found in the most unexpected of places. The staged version follows a narrative format. The event is the meeting place of five old friends in the so-called palace of a self-proclaimed Nawab. During the course of their conversation, each member of the mehfil sets off on a trail narrating an incident that he has witnessed and thus becomes the protagonist in the story. These narrations more or less form the crux of the play.
Although the text had a lot of Urdu, the actors made it quite comprehensible through their histrionics on stage. Shivani Tanksale and Sumeet Vyas� direction stood out in that the actors seemed to be completely believing in and enjoying their performances. Both the directors also played parts. While Sumeet Vyas� superstitious shayar in the story �Be� would never fail finding one word starting with �B� in any of his endeavours, Shivani Tanksale�s portrayal of the wife of a failed shayar in �Zara Tarannum Se� left the audience in splits. Beyond a point however the narration begins to drag and one becomes anxious about knowing what lies in the next story.
A major portion of the play transpires on two benches placed centre stage. These are then skilfully moved around to fit the requirements of each story. The usage of space was quite convincing. Space division was intelligently handled and the lights complimented it. A unique experiment of using lights to underline the humour worked beautifully in the story �Zara Tarannum Se�.
On the whole NAMAK MIRCH turned out to be a humorous experience. A lay person is likely to go in, laugh his heart out, come out and thank God for an enjoyable evening. Followers of the progressive theatre movement would however go in, smile once in a while, come out and thank no one!
* Asmit Pathare is a software engineer by profession and a young theatre and poetry enthusiast. His column �The Marathi Theatre Round-Up� is now a regular feature in the Prithvi Theatre Newsletter (PT Notes). You can read Asmit�s poems on
