The play Nidhi Babu Ghare Achha? being staged in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, July 19: A play depicting challenges of honest living staged recently in the city received appreciation from theatre enthusiasts. The drama titled Nidhi Babu Ghare Achha? illustrated how a noble person living a simple life faces difficulties from different quarters of the society.

Nidhi Behera, the protagonist of the story is a self-righteous man and believes in human values and always avoids regionalism or differences of caste, creed and religion and helps anyone who approaches him.

But his righteous ways make him vulnerable to exploitations by people in his neighbourhood. Many times he is jailed without any fault of his because of certain false allegations.

From charges of murder to link with the Maoists, he serves terms and over the years his conviction is shattered.

Yet Nidhi clings to his virtues. In fact, it is the prisoners and jail officials who show him respect and admiration for his unfazed integrity.

But again, when he is released from prison, Nidhi faces challenges from the society, even from people who are closest to him.

The plot moves ahead to show if the protagonist chooses death over humanity and honesty or changes himself to suit the society and live a comfortable life.

The various moods of the protagonist were remarkably portrayed by veteran theatre personality Choudhury Bikash Das. Most of the other actors were also impressive and won applauses from the viewers.

“We often get to see tragedies in dramas staged in the city. But this play was impressive owing to its strong acting and powerful dialogues as well as sensible direction. It was enjoyable and moving,” said Binita Moharana, a theatre enthusiast.

Directed by Ajit Das, the play was written by Bijay Mishra on whose 76th birthday it was staged on Monday. The play was staged again on the following day by the team of theatre group Bijay – eka uchhwasa.

“We always focus on human nature and try to present an analysis of the society. This is our second production and we are glad that the viewers appreciated our hard work,” the director said.