PicksAndPiquesEnglishHindiTheatreReviewsJohnsonThomas
Play : #PajamaParty
Cast: #KamyaPunjabi, #KavitaKaushik, #ShaktiSingh, #DeepaliGarg, #SunilPalwal, #ArjunSingh
Written by #AtulSatyaKoushik
Directed by #AtulSatyaKoushik
Rating: * * *
Runtime: 130 mins
Venue: Royal Opera House , Mumbai
Crimes against women are being reported every day but the awareness brought on by a more vigilant media hasn’t made much of dent in preventing the rampant, dishonourable and frequent occurrence of the dastardly crime. Social media outrage, though instantaneously gratifying, doesn’t quite take the edge out of the victim’s ordeal while even the intentional, justified defamation of the aggressor/criminal is well forgotten within a few weeks. Media ethics also play an important role. Of late, we have seen many instances where an economically and politically powerful criminal makes use of his or her wherewithal to whitewash his/her sins vis-a-vis character assassination of the victim and at the same time using his/her political clout to withdraw cases and destroy evidence– which in turn leads to further victimization of the weak and vulnerable. Even so, in this age of instant gratification, media plays an important role in making our voices heard. The #MeToo and #MenToo movements are cases in point where both sides of the picture were presented in vivid detail ( not necessarily on the same scale). Director/Writer Atul Satya Koushik’s new play ‘Pajama Party’ tackles the issue of molestation/sexual humiliation in a bipartisan manner, ferretting out the nuances of a sexual exploitation that might probably be looked at benignly depending on which side of the gender divide you profess to support. Koushik’s writing supports a multi-pronged perspective in which the victim may not necessarily be the lamb led to the slaughter but a partially willing participant who suddenly feels out of depth when confronted with a sea of expectations from an alien, bohemian and sexually liberated set.
The play tells a story of four friends (women pursuing different careers in Mumbai) - Darsha(Kamya Punjabi), Aisha(Kavita Kaushik), Kalyani(Shakti Singh), and Urvi(Deepali Garg) all mature young adults who love to enjoy themselves, party, have fun and joke around.
The play begins with a party scene at Aisha and her live-in partner Abhay’s ( Arjun Singh) abode and because of a fracas caused by uninvited advances from Abhay’s friend, the girls decide to drive the men away and have a private pajama party themselves. But Kalyani who has a night out planned with a top lawyer’s son Raghu Sampat(Suneel Kumar Palwal) decides to leave her friends behind and get on with her pre-planned assignation. What happens next forms the crux of the dilemma faced by the four friends.
Kalyani returns all trussed-up and disturbed, her three friends show her the required compassion and help her deal with the situation without resorting to the police. Using Social media, they out the culprit knowing full well that they will be the butt of chauvinistic malevolence. The women stick to their guns and eventually win a reprieve – but is it what they hoped for?
Atul Satya Kaushik employs modern media as the tool meant to bring home the point and his different perspective here, though interesting, isn’t all that plausible in effect and neither is it as satirical as he intended. Kaushik does well to present the male and female view point and his balancing act is most creditable thereof. It’s never a victim versus perpetrator gambit, the nuances here are underlined with smart dialogue and interesting character arcs that evolve enough to keep the audience intrigued. The sets are pretty basic, lighting is not as accomplished as it could have been, Sound was inconsistent and the performances other than that of Kavita Kaushik, are rather ordinary. Kavita Kaushik manages to strike a chord with Aisha’s inspired bravado in tackling the complexity of a fractured relationship compounded by the circumstances arising from the sexual opportunism prevalent in the film world that she hopes to be part of. This may not be a radical presentation but it certainly digs deeper than most when it comes to sexual exploitation of women!
Johnsont307@gmail.com
Cast: #KamyaPunjabi, #KavitaKaushik, #ShaktiSingh, #DeepaliGarg, #SunilPalwal, #ArjunSingh
Written by #AtulSatyaKoushik
Directed by #AtulSatyaKoushik
Rating: * * *
Runtime: 130 mins
Venue: Royal Opera House , Mumbai
Crimes against women are being reported every day but the awareness brought on by a more vigilant media hasn’t made much of dent in preventing the rampant, dishonourable and frequent occurrence of the dastardly crime. Social media outrage, though instantaneously gratifying, doesn’t quite take the edge out of the victim’s ordeal while even the intentional, justified defamation of the aggressor/criminal is well forgotten within a few weeks. Media ethics also play an important role. Of late, we have seen many instances where an economically and politically powerful criminal makes use of his or her wherewithal to whitewash his/her sins vis-a-vis character assassination of the victim and at the same time using his/her political clout to withdraw cases and destroy evidence– which in turn leads to further victimization of the weak and vulnerable. Even so, in this age of instant gratification, media plays an important role in making our voices heard. The #MeToo and #MenToo movements are cases in point where both sides of the picture were presented in vivid detail ( not necessarily on the same scale). Director/Writer Atul Satya Koushik’s new play ‘Pajama Party’ tackles the issue of molestation/sexual humiliation in a bipartisan manner, ferretting out the nuances of a sexual exploitation that might probably be looked at benignly depending on which side of the gender divide you profess to support. Koushik’s writing supports a multi-pronged perspective in which the victim may not necessarily be the lamb led to the slaughter but a partially willing participant who suddenly feels out of depth when confronted with a sea of expectations from an alien, bohemian and sexually liberated set.
The play tells a story of four friends (women pursuing different careers in Mumbai) - Darsha(Kamya Punjabi), Aisha(Kavita Kaushik), Kalyani(Shakti Singh), and Urvi(Deepali Garg) all mature young adults who love to enjoy themselves, party, have fun and joke around.
The play begins with a party scene at Aisha and her live-in partner Abhay’s ( Arjun Singh) abode and because of a fracas caused by uninvited advances from Abhay’s friend, the girls decide to drive the men away and have a private pajama party themselves. But Kalyani who has a night out planned with a top lawyer’s son Raghu Sampat(Suneel Kumar Palwal) decides to leave her friends behind and get on with her pre-planned assignation. What happens next forms the crux of the dilemma faced by the four friends.
Kalyani returns all trussed-up and disturbed, her three friends show her the required compassion and help her deal with the situation without resorting to the police. Using Social media, they out the culprit knowing full well that they will be the butt of chauvinistic malevolence. The women stick to their guns and eventually win a reprieve – but is it what they hoped for?
Atul Satya Kaushik employs modern media as the tool meant to bring home the point and his different perspective here, though interesting, isn’t all that plausible in effect and neither is it as satirical as he intended. Kaushik does well to present the male and female view point and his balancing act is most creditable thereof. It’s never a victim versus perpetrator gambit, the nuances here are underlined with smart dialogue and interesting character arcs that evolve enough to keep the audience intrigued. The sets are pretty basic, lighting is not as accomplished as it could have been, Sound was inconsistent and the performances other than that of Kavita Kaushik, are rather ordinary. Kavita Kaushik manages to strike a chord with Aisha’s inspired bravado in tackling the complexity of a fractured relationship compounded by the circumstances arising from the sexual opportunism prevalent in the film world that she hopes to be part of. This may not be a radical presentation but it certainly digs deeper than most when it comes to sexual exploitation of women!
Johnsont307@gmail.com
Comments
Post a Comment