To the delight of theatregoers, Saurabh Shukla brought to Delhi his latest production,“Jab Khuli Kitaab”, presented by the Oxymoron Theatre Group at Kamani Auditorium recently under the auspices of Aadyam Theatre.
Before joining Bollywood and creating a niche for himself as a fine actor, Saurabh Shukla was the bright face in the theatrical landscape of Delhi. Some of his unforgettable portrayals include main roles in “Khoobsurat Bahoo”, “Mantrimandal” and in “Look Back in Anger”. His most memorable role was in Arthur Miller's “A View from the Bridge” as Eddie Carbone. During his years in Delhi he has also displayed his talent as a playwright and lyrist. Despite the fact that he is in demand in Bollywood, he continues to perform on the Delhi stage often.
Written and directed by Shukla, “Jab Kitab Khuli” is set in a hill station in Uttarakhand, focusing on a family with chronically ill wife and her caring husband. One son and a daughter live away in city with their families. A half-witted son stays with his parents. The condition of the mother fluctuates between normal to critically serious one. The entire family arrives to see the mother. It is a happy family union but there is a sudden twist to the narrative: the mother thinking that her end is near reveals to her caring and loving husband the secret that she has kept to her heart for a long time. A shocked husband feels that his happy world has turned upside down and in a fit of rage calls his wife “a liar and deceitful woman”.
Unravelling secret
The production is undoubtedly slick and impressive, provides the right space for the action which is laced with enthralling music. The aim of the playwright-director seems to provide the audience with an entertaining evening rather than to offer a social and political critique of existing malaise. However, the twists to the narrative seem to be largely contrived. Though we are told that the action is set in Uttarakhand, the characters seem to be living in isolation of ethos of the region. It ids only towards the end that we hear a captivating hilly song sung to welcome the dawn of the spring season heralding new hope and life.
As the play opens, we watch the old woman on her wheelchair, who seems to have lost her sense of speech and hearing. On his part, her husband, who is a retired engineer, tries to talk to her in an endearing voice. The doctor attending on her declares that her death is imminent. It is a miracle that she starts to talk to her husband, revealing to him long kept secret about her undying love for one of the subordinates of her husband. She fell in love within a week of her marriage with the engineer when the husband was away. This brief sexual encounter resulted in the birth of their elder son. The woman does not relapse into coma and accompanies her husband to the court to seek divorce which the angry husband wants at any cost.
Family reunion
The very foundation on which the structure of the narrative is constructed tends to be forced. Most of the action takes place in the house of the engineer which shifts to court where the husband and wife meet a lawyer and through him file a petition for divorce. There is a scene set in Haldwani where the estranged couple buys ice cream from a local vendor. The husband with his ego severely hurt forces his wife for mutual divorce. The lady judge advises the couple to stay together till they get a divorce. Despite bitterness and hatred, the husband is mellowed and we see an undercurrent of sympathy in their relationship.
After much bitterness and virulent attack on family members by the father, the family members unite in the parental house in the denouement to celebrate the marriage of the half-witted younger son but while the celebration is in full flow a court official arrives, telling the members that the old couple has been granted divorce after a long wait. The family members tell him that the couple is no more in this world. There is a touch of irony.
The production radiates with acting marked by poise and polish. Saurabh Shukla as Gopal, the warm, loving and caring husband metamorphosed into intensely revengeful, brings out various facets of his character with remarkable finesse. Iravati Harshe as Anusuya, the chronically ill wife, reveals her secret with painful nostalgia, acts with restraint, delivering her lines laconically creating a convincing portrait of her character.
Danish Husain as lawyer and Ramna Pathak as lady magistrate, make their scenes comically interesting. Ravi Mashabde as Pamesh, the symbol of Anusuya’s true love whom the retired engineer believed to be his biological son for nearly five decades and Kapil Kumar as Jignesh, the son-in-law of the family, act with emotional intensity and conviction.
