U ri Taadu (rope to hang) that Ravi Kondala Rao says is his latest humor play, was staged at Ravindra Bharati as part his ‘Hasya Natakotsvam' held last week. While it was part-slapstick and part-situational, a major part of it was a crime drama.
About two friends
Friends Giri and Babi, live in a rented portion of a house owned by Ravi Konadala Rao, an avowed bachelor who does not like a woman entering his house.
The only way left for Prema, a cute girl in love with Giri, to enter the house to meet him is to change her garb into a boy. However the girl reveals herself accidentally. To cover this up, Giri, Babi and the girl pretend they were rehearsing for a play.
On another day the arrival of Prema's brother Chandram introduces a crime element. Chandram resents his sister's relationship with Giri and Giri's proclamation that he would marry Prema ‘at all costs' results in a scuffle between them, and ends with Chandram's death.
As Giri and Babi plan to dump the body, a continual knocking on the door hastens them to hide the corpse in a coffin-like- box in which used to store books.
enters a bizarre looking man, introducing himself as as Sankar, seeking protection from police who hunting him for a crime he did not commit.
Once Giri and Babi think he is asleep, Giri plans to implicate Sankar in the murder of Chandram. Accordingly they create situational evidence and inform police. The police arrive and the man on the mat jumps up and declares he is the Inspector who is investigating the crime. ‘Uri Taadu' for Giri is the result.
The theme was a little tough for the audience to digest. The play a farce nor to laugh and forget, for it ran as a serious drama in most part. We wonder at Prema choosing a person like Giri to marry, for he was shown as a schemer right from the start. Also, a mere scuffle cannot kill Chandram, in the absence of a some weapon. The withdrawal of the central character of Prema after that needless rehearsal pretence, created a vacuum.
She should have also been brought into play creating some more scenes. Good looking Priyanka is a good actress too and deserved some more length in the drama. Radhakrishna as Chandram remained a corpse all through.
A humor drama should never end as a tragedy. Gandham as Giri, also the director of this play, remained in constant focus.
Allu Ramesh as Babi was just a second fiddle to Giri. Ravi Kondala Rao restricted himself to an insignificant role. Venkatesh as Sankar, the ‘faking victim' also proved a sensible actor. Posani Srinivas, Appa Rao, Neelakantham were in name sake roles. Better the playwight rehash the whole drama for a second production.
