Seema Badnam Hain - hindi drama review : www.MumbaiTheatreGuide.com

Direction :
Starring :

Makrand Deshpande
Gitanjali Rao, Anil Yadav, Makarand Deshpande, Surendra Rajan and Vinod

Purva Desai

Makrand Deshpande�s new play "Seema Badanam Hain" is not easy to decipher. The play takes a different angle at every scene. The play is about Seema, a ghost who lives in Hotel Great Heights in Khandala. For 30 years she has been locked up in room 303 and she is responsible for every death that occurs in that room. In the first half, one wonders if the play is about Seema or couples coming for their Honeymoon to this particular hotel in Khandala. The dominant theme is sex. Seema�s reputation is at stake because couples find it interesting that Seema had come for her second honeymoon to hotel Great Heights for an entire month. Youngsters treat Seema as if she were a prostitute. And the end result is that any one who disrespects Seema is killed (by Seema of course). Popular belief is that Seema killed her husband before committing suicide from a hotel window in Khandala. But the actual story is that the husband killed her and he slipped and died. But there is a twist in the story! It is Seema�s husband Mohan who kills everyone and it is Seema who is blamed for their deaths. The husband has been living in the same room with Seema for 30 years. (That is revealed much later). There is a manager who has been in love with Seema (her spirit) for 30 years.

At this point, we are as confused as ever. One just waits for the next scene to start. There is no element of horror in the play and neither is it spooky. The first half is disappointing as ever. If the thematic concern of the play is Seema and her predicament, then the subject should be treated delicately and not made into a bedroom farce, which is exactly what the play is in the first half. The second half focuses entirely on Seema or so it seems. But Seema becomes everyone�s problem. But the focus is hardly on Seema. There is a famous writer who tries to capture Seema�s thought process, her feelings on being a ghost and her concern for her reputation. Then there is a wannabe actress who tries to portray an agonized and traumatized seema. There is no connection between the first half of the play and the second. There is also a man posing as a monkey in the play. It�s still a mystery as to why the monkey is used? The monkey�s presence does not make it any easier to understand this complicated play. In the end, the focus is on the writer and the actress. The title becomes confusing and misleading.

At some point, one wonders if conversations between the writer and wanna be actress are between Seema and her husband as they dwell in room 303. The play tries to come full circle. What we see in the first half is the predicament of Seema; Seema being the cause of ruin. The second half seems to focus on Seema�s release and her thought process at the time of her death. Somehow, Seema is released from her prison. And everything becomes ok. But where is the connection between Seema�s predicament and her release? The scenes seem abrupt and vague. The play is too lengthy. The sets are gaudy. But the sound effects and the lighting used in the play are very good. Makrand Deshpande (as writer) and Geetanjali Rao (as Seema and the wannabe actress) are the best thing about the play. However, the one plus point of the play is Makrand Deshpande. He has the ability to engage the audience and make them listen. Communication becomes one way, but the audience is still enamoured by him.

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