Date: 22 May 2016
Venue: Epicentre, Gurgaon

Celebrity plays are like rare treats. While too much of this genre can create a skewed view of theater, occasional viewing shows what seasoned acting is all about.

To commemorate Bhishma Sahni’s work, Seema Bhargava ( Badki of hum log) directed a collection of his works. The stellar cast included Manoj Pahwa (Bhatia from office office), Ratna Pathak( Sarabhai vs Sarabhai) Naseeruddin Shah and Bhargava herself.

While we liked the whole production, to cut a long story short our best was “Dholak”, a satire on Indian marriages and the modern groom. Manoj Pahwa playing single handedly grooms uncle, grandfather, Aunts, friends and other roles stole the show.

A close second was the first play “Oob” which was based on boredom. Each play was short and didn’t last more than 20 minutes. This helped to maintain the freshness of the production.

But the real stars were actually the seminal stories by Bhishma Sahni. They are ageless and contemporary even now.