Thanks to the Mohan Rakesh Playwriting Competition annually organised by Sahitya Kala Parishad, Delhi Government, we have been able to witness some significant original plays in Hindi. Selected by a committee consisting of scholars and senior theatre practitioners, four or five plays feature at the prestigious festival, produced by experienced theatre directors.
Most significant plays discovered in this process over the years include “Court Martial” by Swadesh Deepak which was staged for the first time under the direction of Ranjit Kapoor. “Taj Mahal Ka Tender” written by Ajay Shukla was initially produced by Repertory Company of National School of Drama under the direction of Chittaranjan Tripathi. These two plays are immensely popular in the Hindi region. Recently we have seen yet another play titled “Laagi Chhoote Na”, selected by the Committee a few years ago, presented by Rang Visharad Theatre Club at Sammukh auditorium of NSD. Remarkable for its riveting power, “Laagi Chhoote Na” offers moments of pathos and anxiety juxtaposed with light-hearted comic situations. As we leave the auditorium our hearts are filled with empathy for the hard life of creative people and a great deal of admiration for their endurance, passion an persistence to pursue their craft in the midst of adversity.
Written by Sangeeta Bhatnagar from Rajasthan who is actively involved in the theatre as a playwright, actress and designer, “Laagi Chhoote Na” has been already staged in Delhi a few years ago under the direction of senior director Prof. Suresh Bhardwaj. The original play has only two characters which follows realistic style of presentation. Prof. Bhardwaj has followed the original script. The production under review under the direction of Veena Sharma, a talented artist and graduate from NSD with specialisation in direction and designing, is innovative with musical interludes interspersed with opening line of old world Bollywood hits and poetry. The use of Bollywood songs and poems is sparingly used with the aim to deepen the emotional impact. Poems and lyrics are written by Susheel Sharma. The two-character play is transformed into multi-character script and the realistic format is elevated to a musical one.
Dedicated to craft
The production deals with a number of aspects of the theatre, its seamy side and its gloss. But all these issue are woven into the main focus — the struggle of husband and wife who are dedicated to their craft as whole-time practitioner of dramatic art. The couple struggles at two fronts — domestic and theatre productions. The young woman, who loves theatre passionately, is the wife of an impoverished theatre director. Theatre is his life but it hardly provides him with enough money to make both ends meet. To arrange money for a new production is always painful and humiliating. Tired of going through rigorous rehearsal, the wife comes home. She finds their children need hospitalisation. Household provisions are almost finished. The actress wife blurts out at her husband, “Theatre is all hollow, empty. It’s like onion. One starts peeling it off and in the process discovers nothing, no substance.” The husband is engrossed in composing a tune, raises his voice at a high pitch, threatening the wife to assault her physically. “You are miserably unfit to do any work except thrashing your wife. Come do it, right now.” There is silence. The husband is tormented with the feeling of guilt. There are tears in the eyes of the wife, the husband goes close to her, they embrace. The couple resolves to work as theatre artists, come what may — theatre is after all their life.
The action keeps on shifting between the house of the husband-wife and the rehearsal space. In the rehearsal scenes we meet one director, a playwright and a group of aspiring actresses and actors. The director and playwright are obsessed with sex and often indulge in the game of seduction. The director boasts of high connections in the theatre world and has the power to elevate any actress to the status of a celebrity. He keeps boys at arm's length. The playwright enters the scene and is pleased to meet a young and beautiful actress. The bold actress knows about his debauchery but agrees to listen to his script for the sake of courtesy. An old hand as he is in seduction, he starts coming closer to the actress, all the time assuring her that he has written the script only for her which will enable her to rise to great heights. The actress retaliates in a most befitting way. Blending comedy and farce, director Veena keeps the audience in good humour, exposing the rotten element in theatre.
The action takes place almost on a bare stage, sparingly decorated with fabric in different colours, symbolising multiple hues of life in theatre. The production is finely tuned.
Veena Sharma, as the actress wife of a struggling stage director, creates a sensitive portrait bringing to the fore the turbulent emotional world of her character. Susheel Sharma, as the director husband of an actress and the rogue playwright, and Atul Pande, as the sex obsessed director, draw the humorous caricatures admirably.
