I t is the story of an industrialist Madan Sukhnandani, who catches his second wife red-handed with her lover, his assistant. He is murdered and his corpse is hidden. Sukhnandani has several undated wills in possession of his daughter and relatives. “The confusion escalates when three lookalikes of Sukhnandani appear,” smiles theatre director Tahir Ali Baig. That’s the gist of the play Raju Raja Ram Aur Main to be staged this weekend.
The fundraiser play is being staged to help Hyderabad Area Round Table (HART 134) build a school at Kondurg village. Tahir, a member of HART 134 shares, “We have built eight schools and we plan to construct a school in Kondurg village with these funds. When we saw the school, we found there’s only one classroom and just 40 students left in it. We hope to change that scene there,” he states. HART 134 does not adopt schools. “That is a big responsibility and we have our other businesses to take care of,” he says and adds, “We select government schools.”
Directed by Kedar Shinde, Raju, Raja Ram Aur Main has actor Sharman Joshi playing four roles in the play. With Sharman at the helm, the production promises to be a laugh riot. “It is a two-and-half-hour play and Sharman’s energy is all over the stage,” he states and adds, earlier performances of the play have run houseful. Actors Shivani Karadkar, Rajesh Singh, Vivek Desai, Rajesh Bhosale, Namaya Saxena also act in the play. Tahir has been in the field since 2003 and has assisted Nagesh Kukunoor. He then moved to US and has also been with Kennedy Centre and Broadway. He has been in Hyderabad since 2013 and has taken up direction. ‘A Distinct Plateau’ directed by Tahir was staged in Bengaluru recently.
