Hindi play completes 1,060 shows

Hai Mera Dil has been running for 32 years and still has the audience in splits.

For a play, a running time of more than 30 years is rare. So, the cast and crew are rightfully elated to stage Hai Mera Dil for the 1060th time, on September 12.

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The lead actress of the comic play, Preeta Mathur Thakur says, “It feels great that the audience loves Hai Mera Dil and keep coming back for it. For them, it has become like a therapy to beat stress.”

Comedy of errors
Hai Mera Dil is a comedy of errors about a husband who thinks he is about to die of a heart ailment soon and sets to tick items off his bucket list. The fun begins when his plans boomerang.

Thakur first performed the play when she was in her mid-twenties and laughs about the fact that the ages of the actors have stayed put in the plot. It was this play that gave Prithvi theater it’s very first houseful way back in 1978.

Thakur feels the show has become a comfort zone for the actors now. “Timing is very important in the genre of comedy but we do not get tense before the performance anymore. We know what works with the audience.”

Ever evolving
Over time, a few changes have been incorporated in the play to make it contemporary and relatable.

“Some actors have been replaced along the years. In fact, it will be one of our actor’s first performance in this 1060th show,” Preeta reveals.

The play has traveled to many cities and small towns across India and now Thakur hopes to take it abroad in the coming year. “Humour arises from the simplest things in life and Hai Mera Dil plays up on that. People in every city have appreciated it. The play evokes laughter among all kinds of audiences,” Thakur asserts.