A slice of Mumbai life
7 July 2012 9:11 AM GMT
While the capital sweats it out, Mumbai is already experiencing ‘magical monsoons’. But fret not, while Delhiites can’t experience the rains yet, here’s your chance to taste a slice of life in the Maximum City.
Bombay Talkies, that will be staged in the city this weekend, is a series of eight monologues which offer a poignant and humorous take on the city of Mumbai. The dilemmas of modern life have been woven into a series of eight monologues which will provoke the audience to question our lives. On stage will be the likes of Darshan Jariwala, Anahita Uberoi, Zafar Karachiwala, Rasika Duggal, Viraf Patel, Vikram Kapadia and Namit Das.
‘It is a series of eight intensely gritty monologues. There are a lot of textures, they are topical as the writer Vikram (Kapadia) is quite aware of the current sociopolitical circumstances. I would say it is a slice of Mumbai,’ says producer Devika Shahani Punjabi.
‘The only connecting factor between the eight monologues is Mumbai. The monologues reflect life replete with pain, desire, aspirations and shows the human condition,’ adds writer-director Kapadia.
‘The different monologues reflect different aspects of the modern life. One of them shows the plight of a child artiste and how the success and failure that adults are so familiar with burdens the child,’ he adds.
‘Another one is on corruption. People who have seen the play in Mumbai call it the item number of the piece. The situation questions our definition of corruption. It shows how an ordinary person goes to get a passport and is faced by corruption. The familiarity of the situation strikes a chord with the audience and raises a question as to whether we can justify corruption in certain situations,’ says Kapadia.
‘Perhaps, we need to change our understanding of the problem and the way we define it to come up with a compatible solution,’ he adds.
‘For instance, if a loved one desperately needs a bed in a hospital and there is a shortage, if you know someone in the board of the hospital or a high-rank official, will you not call him for a favour? Do we then call that corruption because others in your place will be denied the same?’ asks Kapadia.
One of the monologues’ is woven around the life of a journalist and the way media organisations run after TRPs, neglecting ethics. This is the most positive and hopeful of all the monologues. ‘The character of the journalist goes through a transformation and shows that there is hope but only if we change,’ says Kapadia.
‘Three monologues are very positive while the others are dark. They are a labyrinth of human emotions and display all flavours of life. They are humorous, ironic and moving,’ he adds.
There is a monologue which takes the audience in the future — the city of Mumbai in 22nd century. This one is dark and gives the message that if we don’t change ourselves and our world, we will continue to spiral towards doom.
‘The monologues will give the audience an evening of laughter and tears and a lot of food for thought. It is not just for the sake of entertainment,’ he signs off.
DETAILS
At: Epicentre, Apparel House, Gurgaon
When: 7 and 8 July, 7.30 pm
Tickets: Rs 750, Rs 500
Phone: 0124 2715000
Bombay Talkies, that will be staged in the city this weekend, is a series of eight monologues which offer a poignant and humorous take on the city of Mumbai. The dilemmas of modern life have been woven into a series of eight monologues which will provoke the audience to question our lives. On stage will be the likes of Darshan Jariwala, Anahita Uberoi, Zafar Karachiwala, Rasika Duggal, Viraf Patel, Vikram Kapadia and Namit Das.
‘It is a series of eight intensely gritty monologues. There are a lot of textures, they are topical as the writer Vikram (Kapadia) is quite aware of the current sociopolitical circumstances. I would say it is a slice of Mumbai,’ says producer Devika Shahani Punjabi.
‘The only connecting factor between the eight monologues is Mumbai. The monologues reflect life replete with pain, desire, aspirations and shows the human condition,’ adds writer-director Kapadia.
‘The different monologues reflect different aspects of the modern life. One of them shows the plight of a child artiste and how the success and failure that adults are so familiar with burdens the child,’ he adds.
‘Another one is on corruption. People who have seen the play in Mumbai call it the item number of the piece. The situation questions our definition of corruption. It shows how an ordinary person goes to get a passport and is faced by corruption. The familiarity of the situation strikes a chord with the audience and raises a question as to whether we can justify corruption in certain situations,’ says Kapadia.
‘Perhaps, we need to change our understanding of the problem and the way we define it to come up with a compatible solution,’ he adds.
‘For instance, if a loved one desperately needs a bed in a hospital and there is a shortage, if you know someone in the board of the hospital or a high-rank official, will you not call him for a favour? Do we then call that corruption because others in your place will be denied the same?’ asks Kapadia.
One of the monologues’ is woven around the life of a journalist and the way media organisations run after TRPs, neglecting ethics. This is the most positive and hopeful of all the monologues. ‘The character of the journalist goes through a transformation and shows that there is hope but only if we change,’ says Kapadia.
‘Three monologues are very positive while the others are dark. They are a labyrinth of human emotions and display all flavours of life. They are humorous, ironic and moving,’ he adds.
There is a monologue which takes the audience in the future — the city of Mumbai in 22nd century. This one is dark and gives the message that if we don’t change ourselves and our world, we will continue to spiral towards doom.
‘The monologues will give the audience an evening of laughter and tears and a lot of food for thought. It is not just for the sake of entertainment,’ he signs off.
DETAILS
At: Epicentre, Apparel House, Gurgaon
When: 7 and 8 July, 7.30 pm
Tickets: Rs 750, Rs 500
Phone: 0124 2715000
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