Artistes perform in the play Barsha Bhija Ateeta at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, May 3: Barsha Bhija Ateeta, with all its filmi song and dance sequences and high-voltage dialogues, could have easily earned accolades for its entertainment quotient. But the two-hour play could only manage a few barely audible claps and many more yawns.

Director Santosh Mohanty has made an honest attempt at bringing sensitive social issues to the fore, but perhaps it would have been wiser to focus on one topic instead of a medley.

The play did have a promising start though — the story of forbidden love between two siblings. While some might find the idea profane, those in the audience were initially glued to their seats hoping to catch an avante garde take.

But an unexpected twist in the tale slowed down the pace of the story and even worse, the story went off on a different track altogether.

The audience was left to cringe in their seats in the midst of all the hotchpotch. While some left the auditorium as soon as the story went off track, the patient ones waited for a spark, but sadly, found none at all.

After the family and the village renounces the sacrilegious relationship between two siblings, one of whom is adopted, the boy pledges to find a suitable match for his sister within a week.

Enter a doctor from the city, with his sister in tow. What was exasperating about the episode was that the sister, who had been fighting all along for society to accept their forbidden relationship, took less than a minute to fall head over heels for the doctor.

The so-far solemn drama then breaks into a song-dance sequence rather ludicrously executed by the actors.

The story moves on with the sister getting married to the doctor and then becoming a widow after an unfortunate accident.

The play concludes with the widow re-opening the doctor’s chamber in an effort to help the needy people in the village. One might ask how she could open a clinic when she is not a doctor.

The director, however, seems to be quite sure no one will ask the question.

The story that began with a taboo relationship turned romantic in between and ended with a social service message, with none of the ideas getting their place in the sun. On the acting front, the players gave an average performance but the lead actress was definitely worthy of praise.

The play was produced by Nirmanbigha Sanskriti Parishada with stagecraft by Asim Basu.

“It was an average act. I failed to understand the focus of the play. Was it trying to convey a message to us or was it just another play for entertainment? I could not understand,” said Debasis Mishra, a member of the audience.