A view from the West

Excellent act

The ‘Deccan Herald Theatre Fest’ is back. And how! The electrifying response on the first day of the six-day fest said it all. The crowd was good, considering it was a weekday.

Theatre enthusiasts thronged the venue to buy tickets well in advance. Theatre Club’s Afsana, written by Anuvab Pal and directed by Abhijit Sengupta, marked the first day, first show at Chowdiah Memorial Hall.

The two-hour long play dealt with important issues related to religion, racism and western perceptions aboutnon-westerners. There was never a dull moment throughout and the actors managed to hold the curiosity of the viewers right till the end.

Afsana traces the story of two failed authors — James Bond (played by Ashish D Abreo) and Mohsin Ali (played by Anish Victor), who write innumerable drafts of novels on Afsana, Mohsin’s wife who was run over by James twenty years ago. That is when the two met and their friendship began.

Finally, after years of grovelling, James’ book is accepted for publication but Mohsin’s is rejected. James’ euphoria is shortlived as the book manages to sell only 80 copies. Soon, James works out a plan to help both of them succeed and that’s where the Middle Eastern looking people come in play.

The play opened with the publisher, played by Ankush Dadu, replying to James’s mail about the book. Ankush is very supportive and encouraging in his reply. The second scene had James Bond and Mohsin Ali discussing the book and hoping the sales would be good. The play captured the struggles, frustrations, anxieties and hopes of the two authors. It was a hilarious comedy at one level. On a serious note, however, it tore into the Western mindset about non-white people, where the name and colour of one’s skin can conjure up prejudice.

Abhijit Sengupta, the director of the play, said he didn’t think twice before zeroing in on the play. “It’s a comedy but it also deals with very serious religious issues and the western perception of non-whites. The play also looks at issues of faith and takes a dig at preconceived notions of non-westerners,” he said.

About serious writing, he said, “It doesn’t get any praise. And I must say that serious writing is difficult for people to take. There are only a handful of intellectuals who care about serious stuff but most people overlook serious issues.” 

Abhijit said he incorporated changes in the original script carefully. “We didn’t want to hurt any religious sentiments so we shifted the emphasis from religious issues (that were there in the original version) and dwelt on a westerner’s perception about the non-western world,” he observed.       
 
The play had all the trappings of a perfect thriller. There was comedy, suspense and there were a few thought-provoking dialogues. Ashish D Abreo and Anish Victor played their parts to perfection. 

Those in the audience said that they really loved the play. Padma, a housewife, said, “The actors were brilliant and did very well in their dialogue delivery. The story was interesting and there were many thrilling moments.” Anuj Ahuja, another member of the audience said, “It’s fascinating to see how serious issues have been packaged in an interesting format. The actors are exceptionally talented.”