Movies like Madhumati (1958) and Mughal-e-Azam (1960) have created an indelible mark on generations, both past and present. Their over-the-top flamboyance caught our attention and taking us back to the 1950s era is a new play, titled Dhappa. It is written and directed by Akshay Mishra and follow the life of Shyam, a writer-turned-director on the lookout for his muse. He finds it in a dancer called Iravati, who is the sister of Kumar, a down-on-his-luck actor, known for being bad.
Talking about the inspiration behind penning this play is Mishra’s nostalgia about the days past. He prefers stories from the era gone by and is unable to “connect” with today’s generation. “Somewhere, I miss the strong bonding that existed back then. Isliye meri jitni bhi stories hain, puraane zamaane se hain, jahan mobile phone ya internet ka zikr nahin tha,” he says.
When kids play luka chuppi and catch each other, they say ‘dhappa’, Mishra shares, adding, “Dhappa mere zehen main ghoom raha tha. Play main maine ek metaphor ki tarah use kiya hai. It is like a realisation of what went wrong in your life and where you went wrong.”
Actor Puneet Issar, famous for playing Duryodhan in Mahabharata will essay the lead role of Shyam. Talking about his character, he says, “The characters I’ve played before were larger than life. So, when I was approached for this play, I thought this is very interesting and is contrary to the stuff I have done. It is based on a director from the 1950s-60s when the directors used to call the shots like Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt. I was intrigued and want to be able to break my mould and people will definitely see Puneet Issar in a new avatar. The play is very intense, emotional, yet very soft as well. Achaa hai.”
{{/usCountry}}Actor Puneet Issar, famous for playing Duryodhan in Mahabharata will essay the lead role of Shyam. Talking about his character, he says, “The characters I’ve played before were larger than life. So, when I was approached for this play, I thought this is very interesting and is contrary to the stuff I have done. It is based on a director from the 1950s-60s when the directors used to call the shots like Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt. I was intrigued and want to be able to break my mould and people will definitely see Puneet Issar in a new avatar. The play is very intense, emotional, yet very soft as well. Achaa hai.”
{{/usCountry}}A trained kathak dancer, actor Sharon Chandra will essay the role of Shayam’s muse Iravati. While her training came in clutch, and this Fijian has taken inspiration from the greats like Helen, Vyjayanthimala, Roshan Kumari, Saswati Sen to choreograph and perform the dances in the play.
She says, “They have done kathak at that level and with this play I am not trying to emulate them be inspired by the work that they have already done. It was difficult slipping into the kathak shoes but I have been training. I have four to five dances in the play and some of them are pure dance pieces while some are mixed with a monologue or poetry.”
The play will include live music with 11 original songs and thumris that were composed by Mishra himself and with include singers Radha Srivastava and Amit Ranjan Srivastava along with percussionist Ajit Kumar Srivastava.
There is a need for original stories in the theatre world and Mishra seems to agrees. He says, “Agaar hum Mumbai, delhi, ya pure hindi theatre scene ke bare mei baat kare, to logo ko classics pasand hai. Toh classics repeat kar rahe hai ya toh classics ka adaptation kar reha hai. Original stories bohot kam hai. Bohot acche writers hai but probably because of the funds, they are not coming into the limelight because no big name is producing them.”
Catch it live!
What: Dhappa
When: June 18
Where: St. Andrews Auditorium, Bandra
Timing: 7pm