Written and Directed : Faezeh Jalali Cast : Reshma Shetty, Nimisha Sirohi, Junaid Khan, Anoushka Zaveri, Vikas Rawat, Prerana, Jeevan Shetty, Prince, Prashansa Sharma, Priyasha Bharadwaj, Shubhankar Ekbote, Ojaswi
RUNAWAY BRIDES Review
There are many reasons why RUNAWAY BRIDES is getting house full shows. It picks up many aspects of popular entertainment - contemporary subject matter, variety of characters on stage, plenty of humour, reference to popular songs, unconventional plot and more. There are also many reasons why those who write and produce plays should watch this and learn a few lessons about getting political writing right in today's times.
Amongst the many reasons why the play is an apt contender for popularity is the way it dwells upon a controversial issue like 'love jihad' in a manner that no matter what may be one's ideological leanings, you can't be offended. It doesn't play into the hands of the elite folks who want a creative piece where all in a minority community are noble but shortchanged. When a muslim woman turns out to be a lesbian, the play surely does not walk into safe hands! It doesn't leave a stone unturned to roast Hindu hardliners and discusses their absurdities threadbare. It picks up contemporary themes such as the striking acceptance in family members of inter-religious marriages, counsellors, single mothers, unmarried kids, friendship rather than servitude towards fellow in-laws, and more.
Faezeh Jalali also does a great job of never letting ideological commentary overtake love stories â€" the play is packed with many love stories and that makes the viewer want to know what happens next. The cast is essentially young and not picked up from any one theatre group. That's also something noticeable because almost all theatre groups have the usual suspects. The young talent leaves seniors way behind because there is no way the veterans can catch up with the flexibility and responsiveness of their face and body. This is a departure from the tradition of theatre today - Directors usually do not find it easy to get past the stranglehold of regulars in their group.
Reshma Shetty and Nimisha Sirohi play their part very well, transforming from mothers into a same-sex couple. Junaid Khan fits the role very well in playing a contemporary groom who wants to marry the girl of his choice without being blind in love. Vikas Rawat plays his role of a pandit that also has his swing of moods, including falling in love with an orthodox Muslim woman, played by Prerana, in the process. Priyasha Bharadwaj and Shubhankar Ekbote also add a lot of energy to their play. In fact, all the actors get to make an impact and all of them do. Even the musician has a few lines in the play.
The play, very understandably, may not be liked by a substantial section of the regular theatre goers because it hardly caters to that audience. The audience of the play is the common man who likes to consume emotion, drama, music and laugh at their own political preferences. The ways in which the play could improve is to replace Bollywood songs with original music though that would be a tough nut to crack in terms of resources.
(Tarun Agarwal is the founder of a startup, BIG BAD IDEA)
