Dasha, a collage of four Hindi plays brings together the works of Munshi Premchand, Shrilal Shukla and author and theatre director Mathura Kalauny.
Dasha , directed by Mathura Kalauny and presented by Kalayan Theatre Group,portrays in vignettes various states of existence.
Kalauny has adapted Premchand’s work Kafan . “The story is about a father and son trapped in poverty. It is difficult to understand what it really means to live in abject poverty. I have directed the play in a way to show what it really means to be in this state of existence.” Chirag Ka Bhoot , the second play, is a satire written by Kalauny. “It is hilarious,” says Kalauny in a telephonic interview, “a genie appears before a common man, who initially asks of the genie to fulfil his most basic wishes. But the more he gets, the more he wants. The play shows how destructive greed is.”
Kalauny has based the third play Langad on a character from Shrilal Shukla’s book Raag Darbari . “The book was written 50 years ago, but it is still relevant. For this play, I have stayed true to Shukla’s language as far as possible. The play has strong characters and is a satire on corruption.”
The last play, Kaun Ho Tum Brihannala , has been written by Kalauny. “The play is based on the story of how Arjun comes in the guise of Brihannala. It is a compassionate view on the lives of hijras. They have to resort to begging or they commit crimes because society doesn’t accept them.”
Kalauny has paid equal attention to production as he has to performance. “I set up Kalayan Theatre in 1988. Hindi theatre wasn’t quite popular then. But I ensured that every production is of the highest quality. We have staged plays that have been appreciated by Bangaloreans,” says Kalauny, who has written nine full length plays, 18 short plays, 150 short stories, four novels and two radio plays.
The cast includes Sudarshan Rajgopal, Faria Fatma, Sanil Yatti, Srinivas Naidu, Mayuresh Nirhali, Daisy Hookens, Anirudh Katoch and Anurag Agnihotri.
Dasha will be staged at Alliance Françoise today at 7.15 p.m. and on February 10 at 3.30 pm and 7.15 p.m. Tickets, priced at Rs. 200, are available at bookmyshow.com and indianstage.in. Call 9900566480.
