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Play Title: Blind Date
Rating: * * ½
Cast: Jay Soni, Cheshta Bhagat, Pritam Singh, Sanjay Bhatia, Ani Shah And Pranav Tripathi.
Producer: Harsh Badheka
Director: Prasad Khandekar
Adaptation: Raman Kumar
Presenter: Pranav Tripathi (A Sakaar Creation)
A Drama about love and choices, this play is a comedy drama about Dhara(Chesta Bhagat) who returns from an independent International back-packing sojourn to pressure from her parents to get married to Nisarg(Jay Soni), an Engineer who has come down to India specially to design and build the Bullet Train. Sly asides regarding the commissioning of such an unwieldy project notwithstanding, the drama is concentrated around Dhara’s courtship with Nisarg and her eventual realisation that they both are incompatible in their thinking and beliefs - brought on by a tragic circumstance. A major portion of Dhara’s rehab involves meeting and following Pawan’s (Pritam Singh) motto regarding life.
There’s not much excitement to be had here, But for a few stray laughs, the writing is pretty much pedestrian. Pranav Tripathi’s original Gujarati play based on a story idea by Prakash Panchal has been adapted here by erstwhile TV series creator Raman Kumar. Raman Kumar tries to give the play a contemporary bent by including side topics like the bullet train and suggesting political nefariousness but none of it is hard-hitting enough to score with an audience. The performances are loud, the sets are suitable though and the lighting garbs the mood but the direction and the scenario setting is a little wayward. The protracted and silly ending destroys the little hope held that this play might just be a radical beginning of sorts. The contretemps before that makes it next to an impossibility.
The title of course is misleading, this play is not about a blind date - though blind may be a story element in itself. Actor Jay Soni, of TV fame, plays Nisarg decently enough, Chesta Bhagat as Dharna loses voice and diction intermittently while enacting her lead role, Pritam Singh as Pawan attempts an Amitabh Bachchan stereotype and brings on the drama at full blast. Director Prasad Khandekar’s treatment is influenced entirely by mainstream cinema and theatre with the requisite signature music, flashy costume, romantic settings and songs. The major problem here though is that none of the characters appear believable and therefore remain un-affecting.
Johnsont307@gmail.com
A Drama about love and choices, this play is a comedy drama about Dhara(Chesta Bhagat) who returns from an independent International back-packing sojourn to pressure from her parents to get married to Nisarg(Jay Soni), an Engineer who has come down to India specially to design and build the Bullet Train. Sly asides regarding the commissioning of such an unwieldy project notwithstanding, the drama is concentrated around Dhara’s courtship with Nisarg and her eventual realisation that they both are incompatible in their thinking and beliefs - brought on by a tragic circumstance. A major portion of Dhara’s rehab involves meeting and following Pawan’s (Pritam Singh) motto regarding life.
There’s not much excitement to be had here, But for a few stray laughs, the writing is pretty much pedestrian. Pranav Tripathi’s original Gujarati play based on a story idea by Prakash Panchal has been adapted here by erstwhile TV series creator Raman Kumar. Raman Kumar tries to give the play a contemporary bent by including side topics like the bullet train and suggesting political nefariousness but none of it is hard-hitting enough to score with an audience. The performances are loud, the sets are suitable though and the lighting garbs the mood but the direction and the scenario setting is a little wayward. The protracted and silly ending destroys the little hope held that this play might just be a radical beginning of sorts. The contretemps before that makes it next to an impossibility.
The title of course is misleading, this play is not about a blind date - though blind may be a story element in itself. Actor Jay Soni, of TV fame, plays Nisarg decently enough, Chesta Bhagat as Dharna loses voice and diction intermittently while enacting her lead role, Pritam Singh as Pawan attempts an Amitabh Bachchan stereotype and brings on the drama at full blast. Director Prasad Khandekar’s treatment is influenced entirely by mainstream cinema and theatre with the requisite signature music, flashy costume, romantic settings and songs. The major problem here though is that none of the characters appear believable and therefore remain un-affecting.
Johnsont307@gmail.com
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