United Amateur Artists (UAA) is ready with their next play. The troupe’s 67th, ‘3 JI’ will have humour and substance — a hallmark of UAA. And the humour is always laced with satire. 3 JI is no exception. The story revolves round ‘India Apartments,’ whose tenants are middle class families. Each flat is named after a State and Kerala is said to be haunted and hence untenanted.
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A complex like this is bound to have variety in characters — much like the Sivaji-Vijaya starrer, ‘Bharata Vilas.’ Who can forget the roles of M.R.R. Vasu, VKR, Sukumari and so on? ‘India Apartments’ has a lot to offer too.
A challenge
Meenakshi, a young arrogant woman, and her henpecked husband dictate terms monopolising the affairs of the Welfare Association. When the long employed security guard, Damodaran alias Damu, asks for a much due raise, the duo insult him in front of others and send him away. Damu challanges that he will come back and put an end to the dominance of the couple.
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Damu surprises the residents a year later, by moving into the haunted apartment. He has bought it. The plot thickens as Damu contests the colony election, the target clearly being Meenakshi and her husband.
His friend cum political aide Manickam, helps him with this. Things hot up as the ghost of Gandhiji appears before Damu and offers to guide him in the colony election. The Mahatma wants to test his principles of Truth and non-violence in this age. This experiment would be an acid test for the entire nation, he feels.
On the other side, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose aligns with Meenakshi. With two ideologically different leaders of yesteryear entering the fray, the campaign becomes fierce and yes, comical.
The results will be announced at 7 p.m. on May 25 at Mylapore Fine Arts Club Auditorium, where ‘3 JI’ will be inaugurated. Two more shows on May 26 (7 p.m.) and May 27 (4 p.m.) follow.
Chitralaya Sriram has written the play, dramatised and directed by Y.Gee. Mahendra, who also leads the cast with all the UAA regulars, including Suppini.
“This is our 66th year at the service of Tamil theatre and ‘3JI’ has something for all age groups. The children, especially will love the ghost element right up their alley,” says YGM.