GAJAB TICHI ADAA, written and directed by Waman Kendre, is an adaptation of Aristophanes's Greek play LYSISTRATA. The premise of both plays is simple, if novel: women of an embattled country decide to deny their soldier husbands sex until they stop going to war. The soldiers, the politicians and other men of the city are revolted by the idea of women influencing political decisions and fight back. What ensues is a battle of the sexes.
A pacifist by ideology, Aristophanes wrote his play as a political satire during the Peloponnesian War that was fought from 431 BC to 404 BC between Athens and Sparta. While it is labelled a comedy because of its happy ending and because of humorous repartee sprinkled throughout the play, its biting, angry humor, and its references to very real political happenings of the time are its real strength. The setting for Kendre's musical rendition, however, is a kingdom far away that is reminiscent of stories from Amar Chitra Katha with no contemporary reference and, therefore, relevance.
In LYSISTRATA, while there is a lot of innuendo, the tone is grounded and fiercely feminist. The chauvinist behavior of the Chorus of Old Men while draped in comedic dialogue, brings home with starkness the unfortunate status of women in society. In Kendre's musical, the delivery of the jokes is so on-the-nose, the lines don't seem as funny anymore. The ordeal of the group of slave women brought home as spoils of the war is told in such melodramatic tones, the sequence feels like it belongs in an exploitation film.
Comparisons apart, if one were to look at GAJAB TICHI ADAA on a standalone basis, the colorful costumes by Sandhya â€" the women's long skirts, the prostitutes with their glittery dupattas, the king and queen with their heavily embroidered garments add a lot of beauty to the play.
The songs by Kendre and the beautiful dance sequences choreographed by Anil Sutar with the women dancing with bells in their hands turn the musical into a spectacle. There is an especially beautiful sequence when one of the women runs away from her husband while he goes after her into the city in the middle of the night with voices calling out softly in the background. As he tries to find her to forcefully make love to her, he is surrounded by the Chorus of Women, their voices faded at first, growing in strength until he is finally driven away.
However, what must drive a play, even a musical, is good performance. There are two primary characters in the story â€" the warmongering king and the leader of the women of the city, who calls for peace.
Unfortunately, both of their performances are so melodramatic and over the top, that they cannot be taken seriously even in the most poignant of moments. While some of the monologues are ironic some become extremely sentimental. If the play had perhaps been clearer about whether it is meant to be seen only as a big spectacle or as political satire and if the performances were more grounded, it could have made for a much better watch.
Neha Shende is an avid theatre-goer and enjoys watching old Bollywood movies in her free time.
