Striking a chord with audience
The play ‘Five point Someone’ was powerful in its content and evocative in its performance
The much-hyped Five Point Someone, a novel by Chetan Bhagat that was recently staged at Ranga Shankara was a huge success with the young people gathered to watch the play.
Performed by Evam Entertainment, the audience couldn’t help but draw a parallel between the play and the movie, 3 idiots.
The play is narrated in first person by Hari, the lead character. He opens the scene by talking about his life on the IIT campus in Delhi during 1990s with his friends Ryan Oberoi and Alok Gupta. These three mechanical engineering students fail to cope with the grading system of the IITs.
They get off to a bad start in IIT by screwing up the class quiz. And while they try to make amends, things get worse. Hari, Ryan and Alok get Grade Point Average 5.58, 5.01 and 5.88 respectively. Thanks to their grades, the three boys were soon nicknamed as Five Point Someone. This name calling haunts them at all times on campus. These guys begin to feel that the IIT system has stifled their creativity because of the grading system. Don't the under-performers too have a right to live and breathe free? This is a question that perturbed those in the audience.
Though the play is humourous, it slips into some dark moments when it comes to the families of the main characters. The plot is tightly knit and steeped in punchy dialogues. Without too much props, the performers succeeded in exuding powerful emotions on stage. Theatre lovers enjoyed the 150-minute play and seemed immersed in it. All the team members Sudharshan (Hari), Bhargav (Alok), Naveen (Ryan), Vaishak (narrator), Amritha (Neha) and Anand (Professor Cherrian) did full justice to their respective roles.
Talking about the play Vinu, a theatre enthusiast said, “I have already read the book Five Point Someone and was wondering how it would be as a play. But, the play was really up to my expectations and the conversations were enjoyable. I didn't see the movie 3 Idiots and hence can't compare or comment on that.”
DHNS
