Of fun, laughter and self-analysis

The play Some Times takes a look at the life of a fun-loving young man and the crazy situations he ends up in as a result of his habits

August 07, 2013 05:04 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 12:18 pm IST - Chennai

A still from Some Times

A still from Some Times

The ingredients to a good laugh are in line. Twenty-something advertising professional Paramjit Singh Duggal has a demanding boss. The girlfriend wants commitment, the mother desires grand children and the father needs a helping hand in business. Adhaar Khurana wanted Some Times , his second directorial venture, to be an easy peek into the life of a young, urban man. It perches itself in situations part of every day life. The script by Adhir Bhatt and Bobby Nagra has drawn in a lot from the lives around them. The stories may be familiar for the city-bred, nevertheless, there is food for thought for the audience. Paramjit’s seemingly fun life, between the weed and the whiskey, also demands some serious sorting out. Some Times has travelled quite a bit after its premiere last summer. Adhaar has taken it to New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Baroda, Goa and Bangalore.

Venue: Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Concert Hall, Harrington Road, Chetpet

Date: August 17, 7.30 p.m.

Director’s Cut

Adhaar Khurana

Some Times , like quite a few of other Akvarious productions, has a definite comic slant. But at times, your comedies too have borne a dark undercurrent. Does Some Times travel a similar journey? How did it evolve?

Some Times is primarily a comedy, however, it does travel a journey. It is not dark as say The Interview was. But it has its sombre moments; it is not a full-on happy tale. Adhir, Bobby and I were jamming together and the idea for this came during a train journey. We thought of using real-life instances, those we have seen happening to people around us. It is a straight-forward narrative and spans three days in the life of Paramjit. He finds himself in situations. There are instances where he has been misunderstood and it is left to him to sort it out.

This is the second play you have directed and your third play My Romantic History is also doing the rounds now. You have been an actor for long and are also playing a part in Some Times . But are you beginning to slowly move towards direction?

The only thing I wanted is to do a very original script, something which I will be able to connect to. I enjoy both acting and direction, but primarily I am an actor. Probably, I am more of a collector than a director. If you have the right people around you, it is more than half the job done. I have got a fantastic cast and for me it was more about getting people together and collaborating.

Akvarious appears to be bustling with creative energy. Actors are scripting plays, actors are attempting direction. Adhir is mostly known to us as an actor. He has co-scripted Some Times . Is it getting to a level of creative engagement where nobody is stuck to set roles and stagnating?

At Akvarious a lot of our efforts are about collaboration and a lot of us tend to do everything once in a while. It is a collective effort and we have been together for a while and share great vibes. Adhir and Bobby have recently taken to writing. Even as they were scripting, the actors for each part was clear. They also knew the strength of each actor. It is more about doing a decent job of whatever we do. Yes, that way, it is very vibrant at Akvarious now.

The Schedule:

Aug 10:How to Skin a Giraffe (Perch, Chennai)

Aug 11:A Walk in the Woods (Motley, Mumbai)

Aug 15:The Tale of Haruk (Performance Group Tuida, Korea)

Aug 16:Circus (MacTrics, Chennai)

Aug 17:Some Times (Akvarious Productions, Mumbai)

Aug 18:Romeo and Juliet - No Strings Attached (Tahatto, Bangalore)

Venue: Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall, Harrington Road, Chetpet

Time: 7.30 p.m.

>For the detailed schedule of MPTF 2013 in all five cities, click here .

Tickets :

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