Date: 2nd Nov 2019
Venue: Kamani Auditorium, Delhi

Aadyam Theatre is in its 5th year of productions and has already staged a couple of plays in Delhi. Their latest presentation Mosambi Narangi (“Sweet Lime” – “Orange”)  is anything but about seasonal fruits. It does however have a sense of season in it. We watched this fun play last weekend at Kamani Auditorium and were in splits.

Mosambi Narangi is an adaptation of Marie Jones’ award winning Irish play Stones In His Pocket.  Directed by Rohit Takalkar, it is a dark comedy by Rage Production. The story is located on the ghats  (banks) of Benares. The small town here comes to life when a movie team from Mumbai reaches here to shoot a film. Mosambi Prasad and Narangi Lal are two local actors with Bollywood dreams, get cast in minor roles in this blockbuster project. They are consumed by the glamour of the film industry. Being junior artists however, they are subjected to degradation and disrespectful behaviour during the shooting process. All this is portrayed in a lighter entertaining vein and the audience can not but stop laughing. But gradually Mosambi  Prasad and Narangi Lal are disillusioned seeing the harsher side of the film industry. The climax is about what they do after that.

The play is in the two-hander format where actors Rajit Kapur as Mosambi and Ajeet Singh Palawat as Narangi play all other characters as well. With few props and some vocal support from a music ensemble in the wings, they shoulder this approximately 2 hours long production. The chemistry between the two actors is evidently a result of professionalism plus dedicated practice. We are quite used to seeing dialogue slips even in professional theatre. However, there is not a single miss on stage during this play and that speaks a lot about the great production value. While Rajit Kapur is the more popular one being a regular in Hindi cinema as well as television for decades, Ajeet Singh Palawat steals the show. This rather diminutive chappie, clearly the underdog, makes full use of that situation and emerges the darling. The singer in the music ensemble deserves special mention – he has a very powerful voice.

The set is artistic with the large bamboo parasols or chhatris used to represent Benaras. The lighting is ambient and the clean look makes sure that it is the acting that stands out. A special mention to the set designer and visualiser as well for their mature restrain. Given Benaras married to Bollywood in this play, there was a lot of opportunity of going over the top.

Mosambi Narangi is a meant to be a comedy. Yet it deftly unites fun with sorrow. We can draw an analogy between Bollywood projects like the one in this theatre and seasons we experience every year. They come and go with their own joys and woes. Seasons change but life goes on. And that is what we took home from the extremely enjoyable Mosambi Narangi.  Theatre buff or just a sucker for fun things, this play is a must watch for all.