Date: 22 to 23 sep 2018
Venue: Kamani Auditorium, Delhi
As we all know by now, Aadyam is the theatre initiative of the Aditya Birla group. They are in their fourth season and the second play was Hello Farmaish. We watched this last Sunday at a packed Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi.
Hello Farmaish is scripted by Sneh Sapru and directed by Yuki Ellias of Elephant in the Room fame. The story is located in a hamlet in Haryana and is based on Kalpana Chawla’s trip to space. On knowing about this, a group of young girls in this village and their sewing teacher go on an odyssey of their own. They start a program “Hello Farmaish” a call-in show that caters to all sort of requests and also talks about Kalpana Chawla’s mission on a ham radio channel. In that process they face hurdles – social stigma, threat, vandalism. Yet their flight of fantasy doesn’t stop.
The stage is creatively designed like an abstract painting. It has a stairway to stars hanging from the ceiling. There is a round ring that looks like an orbit but is really a door. Clouds and a tree complete the dreamy effect.
The review would be incomplete without a word of appreciation about the acting. The seasoned cast gets their Haryanvi diction as well as gait just right. The awesome music and the simple dance moves help in creating a lasting impression and we keep travelling the roller coaster with the actors.
Yes, it is a story about women empowerment. But there is more. It breaks stereotypes such as gender-bender issues, one can follow one’s heart sitting at any corner of the world and not all men are MCPs.
Nonetheless, because of the crash of the spacecraft Columbia, Kalpana Chawla could not make it. She and her fellow astronauts died as the world watched in horror. But what happens to our Hello Farmaish girls? Where does their odyssey take them?
No more spoilers from us. Watch Hello Farmaish whenever it is staged again as it is totally worth the jump between dream and reality. As always we would let you know by way of our listing of Aadyam plays. All said, Hello Farmiash is about that flight that we all need to take – in and out – every single day.
This looks like such a beautiful show. New Delhi has been on my bucket list for some time now. I’m hoping to make it there soon
Sounds like a great play. I’d love to watch it, the story is interesting.
I am not going to admit to loving abstract theatre. But the play sounds interesting and out of this world. lol
I love watching plays and this sounds an interesting one. I have never been to New Delhi but India is really part of my bucket list. I need to take note of the play so I can experience watching it too.
I think this is another interesting to watch. Do you know if they do tours overseas?
This play sounds super interesting! I’ve only seen 1 or 2 plays but they’re definitely something I’d like to see more of!
The second play of the year 2018, from the house of Aadyam is a delightful foray into the outer space. A soon to be screened play titled Hello Farmaish is a tale of a group of village misfits trying to track astronaut Kalpana Chawla’s space mission. Opening at the Royal Opera House on August h and h, the play is a Dur Se Brothers Production. Directed by Yuki Ellias, based on a story by Yuki Ellias and Sneh Sapru, the English script is by Sneh Sapru and Hindi adaptation by Vidit Tripathi. The story is based on the concept of women-run community radio stations in rural India.