Afshan Syed�s debut play has a promising theme but soon enough it whithers down to what appears as the favourite topic-formula amongst some young, Indian writers today. And i.e. failed man-woman relationships + pop philosophy = a play. Not long into these stories and you seriously begin to wonder what the fuss is all about.
Syed�s play for instance has as its protagonist-heroine, a young, urban, supposedly middle-class working woman called Savitri; Savi for short. But any pretensions to cutting that middle-class figure, which is torn between its daily-life realities and the aspirations brought about by a raring Indian economy, end at this contrived name. There is a perceptible divide between what the character is supposed to embody and what it turns out to be.
So Savitri despite the cultural correctness of her name turns out to be someone who appears pretty well-off and looks like the last person who could be suffering from mall phobia. For someone who is afraid to shop in a big mall alone and is bothered enough to get her philosophical antennae up about the consumption that is synonymous with mall culture, here is Savitri who coughs up Rs. 7,000 for a pair of sunglasses and ends up in a pretty, summer dress from an up market shop called Apparel.
These expensive purchases could have brought about pathos and irony had the intended character been true to her humble origins. But in this case they appear as mere contradictions. These anomalies apart, the main text is then quickly forgotten to accommodate Savitri�s unsuccessful, personal relationships. These become revived scenes from her past as she moves from one counter/shop in the mall to the other. Savitri�s disenchantment also seems to stem from her family but we never seem to quite understand why.
All in all it is like creating drama where there is none. A few things however work. There is a grain of truth in Savitri�s unhappy, professional life, although the scene in which she is appraised by her boss is a little too harsh to be true. It could have had a better effect had it been more subtle. You are also likely to sympathize with Savitri�s colleague who would prefer to spend time with her supercilious boss because this would allow her to spend time with a guy she likes, presumably of the same gang. And unlike Savitri she believes that this is the way it is while Savitri is an idealist who needs to �grow up.�
Savitri�s self-righteousness in the face of consumerism is no doubt in conflict with her cushioned life but there is some truth again in the fact that there are more goodies on display than the people who can actually afford to buy them. So like her script, Syed�s direction of the play too works in bits and parts. The mall for example appears too quiet at times and some scenes appear static. In place of a soundscape or any music design, the song �You�re Beautiful� by James Blunt is played right through. Consider it as Savitri�s anthem; a sub-conscious desire, through which she hopes perhaps for the right man to come through. Again in playing Savitri it appears as if the playwright is playing herself.
Dhanendra Kawade�s stage design while creating a simple but effective impression of a mall, is somewhere off the mark in its use of fairy lights. But as with the other aberrations you let it pass. When you do that you get to see some fresh performances. The ensemble cast is made up of mostly young people who are new to the stage. They play different parts- the mannequins in the mall, counter and shop attendants and the medley of characters in Savitri�s life. Nikhila Trikha, Abhishekh Sen and Sourabh Agarwal are good. Nikhila Trikha is particularly convincing in her poise and stature as Savitri�s arrogant boss. As Savitri�s friend and well-wisher in a latter scene, she transforms herself suitably enough.
The appearance of a sweeper-fakir (Abhishekh Sen) at the end of the play leads Savitri to get rid of her shopping and perhaps of the baggage of personal and professional unhappiness. But like everthing else the spiritual appears as mere tokenism, a device which brings Savitri�s moping saga to an abrupt end.
*The writer is Editor of this site, a theatre critic and an academic keenly interested in Theatre and Performance Studies.
