Hi,The credit to instigate the desire in me to watch a play in a theatre goes to Pandey ji ( Deepak Pandey ) my flat mate.
It happened one afternoon when we were just discussing our hobbies and about general stuff, he asked me about my interest towards theatre and i simply replied "No Interest". He inspired rather convinced me to watch one play.So, with no choice left and added with a sudden guilt of not being to a single theatre in 23 years of my life i went to "Rang Shankara" - Theare in Bangalore.
I wont say i was mesmerised by it at a first glance but slowly and surely it was having an impact on me....we managed to get a ticket for the show on the next Sunday. As this was my first exposure to theatre i was excited to see the play on that day itself, so we just waited patiently for somebody to cancel their tickets.
Luckily we got the tickets of "Flowers" by Girish karnad and it was a monologue by Rajat kapoor ( Vyomkash Bakshi fame ). Before the play i, by chance, met Rajat and i was relieved by a feeling that i have not wasted my whole money......!
Finally i entered the theatre and the arrangement was quite good....i wont say i was a having a feeling of deja vu but i felt nice, a sense of childish excitement gripped me for no reason. Finally the play started and we are supopsed to sit there for 1hr 15 minutes stupified. I only remember the moment the play started and the moment it got finished, it was such a wonderful expressions by Rajat, soothing lighting effect,brilliant sound effects ,clarity in each and every word pronounced that i felt myself in the play save one moment. The play was about a priest who throughout his life had worshipped Lingam but to his fate fell in love with a courtesan chandrawati. Then begins his desire for her and the feeling of emasculation. There were some moments when i have to muster all my strength to refrain myself from laughing, Some moments when i wanted to cry with artist's expressions esp. when King asks him about the presence of hair- "But i think God does not have long Hairs".
The second play i watched was about the plight of Kirangoan Village ( Bombay ) Mill workers "46 Cotton 84 Polyester", i liked the energy of the artists on the stage, thier acting, the meaning they wanted to convey.....
The Third Play which i watched was "Jamila bai Kamali"- based on the backdrop of Rajasthani culture- has artists like Rajat Kapoor, Ila Arun and other eminent TV personalities.
It would be an understatement to say that the Play was good, believe me it was amazing and reflected the Jamila Bai's commitment to save the Girl from Prostitution. The Play also depicted the plight of Girls and the mentality of common men towards them.The backgroung rajasthani music was quite thrilling.
Though a play is not a quid pro quo for movies, but both forms of arts can go hand in hand,complementing each other reflecting a different face of society.
In the contemporary world Art in the form of play is sine qua non and one must watch atleast one play in his life and surely "no one can watch just once".
