Throwing light on society

Kalayan Theatre Group staged the Hindi play Swayamvar 2010 at Ranga Shankara recently. The play was written and directed by Mathura Kalauny.

It deals with the story of five individuals trying to find meaning in their relationships.  They try to address this issue in a thought-provoking way.  The play is interspersed with humourous situations, raises many questions about social behaviour and tries to find a solution.

The marriage between Chitra and Shekhar, two perfectly normal human beings, turns them into two fighting individuals.

Chitra despises her husband Shekhar, who does not measure up to her expectations.  
Hence, she gets infatuated with her office colleague Jagadish, who is a mirror image of her dream man. She spends most of her time with him and doesn’t care about her husband.

Sandeep, Shekhar’s childhood friend, falls in love with Sonam, a singer in a restaurant.  He is not sure about marrying Sonam as the marriage of Shekhar and Chitra terrifies him.
He is in a dilemma whether to marry her or not after seeing the broken home of his friend.

But like most Indian tales, the play ends on a happy note. The director’s effort to address a contemporary issue is appreciable.

The characters were quick enough to change the costumes accordingly and their expressions were natural.  All the artistes — Sangeeta Panda (Chitra), Sanil Yathi (Jagadish), Anish Simha (Sandeep), Faria (Sonam) and Vipul Shrivastav (Shekhar) put in their best performance. Though the play has a strong message for today’s generation, it failed to bring audience to the theatre in large numbers.

“The play was quite impressive. There are so many Chitras in our society who are not happy with their marriages. Knowingly or unknowingly, they get into other relationships which is not right. The play upheld the values in the society and gives out a strong message,” said Suhani, after watching the 90-minute play.