'Ballygunge 1990' all about love, longing and mystery

Set three decades back in the bylanes of Kolkata's Ballygunge, a theatre production by director Atul Satya Koushik explores, along with love, longing and loss, a genre under-done in Hindi drama – that of mystery and suspense.

The 85-minute play 'Ballygunge 1990' attracts with its lead actor, 'Crime Patrol' anchor Annup Sonii, but retains audience engagement with its storyline and execution.

Annup describes the Hindi play as the "revenge story" of a relationship where his character abandons a lover for ambition and returns years later after failing. Directed without intervals or even a blackout, the play escalates from a seemingly simple love story, to one of crimes, and ultimately vindication.

However, in the Hindi dramatic landscape, one would find plenty of socio-political and mythological themes, but not many thrillers. Koushik himself has debuted in this genre with 'Ballygunge 1990', popularly explained as the revenge story of a failed relationship.

"Suspense and thriller is not a genre much explored in Indian theatre, especially Hindi theatre. So, I thought of a play which has love in its foreground, undertones of suspense and mystery in the background. The characters are not real, but emotions are real and come from what I see around," Koushik said.

The romantic-thriller play has been produced by the Film and Theatre Society. And, it was staged in the Capital on July 21, 2019.