Other side of the picture

Amidst a freezing night in winter, Hawaalat drops a viewer in a setting emblazoned with old filmy posters alongside a footpath where a political satire sets out in the dark alleys of the city.

Penned by Sarweshwar Dayal Saxena, this Hindi play is “a mockery of the system that is unable to tap the potential of its most hyped resource – manpower. It was relevant and indulging 30-40 years ago when it was written, and is equally suitable for the current socio-political scenario,” says Devesh Nigam, the director of the play. The play is a 70-minute long abridged version of the short story.

Coming from a zealous young lot of ‘Cinecaste’ theatre troupe, a political satire written by a renowned Hindi playwright made for an alluring offer to visit the IHC.
Considering the brouhaha around India's demographic dividend, this play shows the flipside of the entire scenario. Explaining the crux of his play, Devesh says, “It is a commentary on the present system of society. How a motivated youngster becomes a puppet in the hands of authorities - whoever they be - and ends up getting befuddled without having made any change.”

The story that revolves around three young street side boys in a conversation with a policeman, reflects upon this situation quite aptly. These boys try to battle out the cold winter by trying to land a place behind the bars without having committed any crime. Devesh confides, “I witnessed the uproar in people and media at Jantar Mantar and India Gate in the last few years; what I saw inspired me to enact
this play.”

Devesh believes that the young and dynamic youth of the country wants to bring about a change but gets embroiled in bigger movements without much awareness about the issues at hand.

This hard hitting act is a story that revolves around these three boys who are left shelterless, without any food, on one of the coldest nights of the season. Here on, a cold reality takes form as they figure out their way through the night. Taking a peek into their journey through this night as they come across and battle the critical questions facing our society makes one reflect upon the imperative questions of our times.