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| A scene from Katha Collage II staged at Rabindra Bhawan |
The city’s theatre lovers were treated to a new form of drama when Mumbai-based Motley Group staged Katha Collage-II at Rabindra Bhawan on August 5.
A dramatised adaptation of seven satirical tales by noted Hindi playwright Harishankar Parsai, the play is a hilarious take on contemporary Indian society. It is a satire on the shallowness that has become a way of life today.
The first part was the dramatisation of four pieces. The opening item, Telephone, talks about the role of Alexander Graham bell’s invention in today’s context. The second one, Bechara Bhala Aadmi, depicts the plight of simpletons in modern society. The third, Private College Ka Ghoshana Patra, talks about ulterior motives behind the mushrooming of a plethora of private educational institutions. The piece titled Snan deals with the indifferent attitude of the common man towards health and hygiene.
Vo Zara Wife Hain Na dep-icts the chauvinistic attitude of men. Prem Prasang Main Father is about the ever-looming presence of fathers in the love affairs of their daughters. The final piece, Samay Pe Milne Waale, talks about the indifferent attitude of people towards punctuality.
The fascinating aspect of the entire production is the style of presentation. Each of the seven pieces, were performed in a spectacular fashion by the Motley Group team comprising Rakesh Chaturvedi, Arvind Pandey, Heeba Shah, Vishwajeet Pradhan and Ankur Vikul.
The play is a clear example of how the main content can be kept intact and intense by using minimum music, lighting and props.
Of all the pieces, Prem Prasang Main Father, Snan and Samay Pe Milne Waale deserve special mention as they feature some of the funniest moments in the series. Katha Collage-II was altogether a rare experience for theatre buffs of the city for its simple but thought-provoking style of presentation of the content derived from the day-to-day life of the Indian middle class.