Play Review - Ladies Sangeet by Suhel Johar

Ladies Sangeet Is A Hard-Hitting Story Filled With Compassion, Sympathy And Trauma.

 

It was after quite some time that I got to go to Prithvi Theatre at Juhu, Mumbai. It’s always been such a pleasure to be there and soak in its soothing atmosphere. So when I was invited to watch the Hindi-English play Ladies Sangeet play I just couldn’t refuse. And was I happy or disappointed? Well it was a pleasure to sit through Ladies Sangeet and watch the play.

Set in an urban Indian household Ladies Sangeet began with marriage preparations in a haveli or an ancestral home. Since music is an integral part of an Indian wedding celebration, it forms the backdrop of playwright – director Purva Naresh’s Hindi-English play Ladies Sangeet. Just before the event, various conflicts that have wound its members up over the years unspool. The multi-layered play explores gender dynamics and has as its core the conflicting issues between contemporary and tradionality. It raises some hardcore issues like - is it necessary for a husband and wife to stay together even after physical and spiritual relationship is dead between them? Why would a woman want to put her daughter in the same kind of bondage despite the bitter experiences of her own troubled marital life? Conforming to societal norms of ‘marriage’ is questioned.

Ladies Sangeet showcases the story of a traditional Indian family that has gathered at its ancestral home for one of the pre-wedding ceremonies, ladies sangeet. Radha (Nidhi Singh), the girl who is getting married is a modern girl, she is simply not cut out for a traditional marriage and the thought of it makes her very uncomfortable. Her mom, Megha (Lovleen Mishra), and aunt Madhura Bua (Sarika Singh) discuss everything - from how the bride-to-be needs to touch her in-laws’ feet to the lehenga and the jewelry she should wear. The weight of the lehenga she has to wear weighs heavy on her mind and so does the thought of using a ghunghat to 'control' the husband is something she considers as regressive. Radha's mother Megha (Lovleen Mishra) and father, Yash (Joy Sengupta) have separated but continue to live in different rooms under the same ancestral home.

Radha's Dadi (Nivedita Bhargava) is a classical music enthusiast. She teaches one of her grand daughters, Radha’s sister Rukmini (Trisha Kale) classical music, more specifically, Bandish. The dadi has her own set of rules for everyone to live by in the ancestral home and of one these rules means that the sangeet won’t have any Bollywood numbers. Rukmini plays along hoping to convince her Dadi to allow Bollywood music in the sangeet. In the meanwhile, the Buas, try to come to terms with their body-image issues, with their bar-dancer sister-in-law’s help.

 

A dramatic turn comes in the story when Radha seems confused and is overcome by second thoughts of getting married. She puts forth her thoughts to Sid (Siddhartha Kumar), the guy she is supposed to getting married to. She tells him there is no justification for the marriage and wants the marriage cancelled or at least postponed to a future date till she finds one valid reason for the marriage to happen. The responsibilities of the wedding preparation are on a wedding planner, Hosadiya (Sharib Hashmi) who tries to convince Radha and Sid to get married by adding a lot of humour to the proceedings.

When Megha and Yash come to know about Radha developing cold feet at getting married they have a heart to heart discussion over the matter. During their conversation it is revealed that despite being married for a long time Radha's father has been living on a pile of secrets stashed in his closet.

 

Ladies Sangeet is a hard-hitting story filled with compassion, sympathy and trauma. It checks the reality that is prevalent in the society we live in today. It tells you about each individual dealing with issues and dilemma of life and fighting to survive in the unsympathetic world. The story is actually told through several parallel tracks. Each track shows up long-held stereotypes on gender, sexuality and 'Indian values' and how that's blending in the present times. Through the setting of a modern wedding and a sangeet ceremony, Purva brings to life the complicated interface of the genders. The play delves into the psyche of gender roles and portrays various kinds of relationships in a family. Purva explores all these complex bonds between members of the family, but without becoming too forceful. Instead she does all this in a very intuitive and simple way.  

Ladies Sangeet has its share of music and dance, as it is an inseparable element of the Indian wedding.  Conversations play an important part in the play. In fact, conversations between people serve to highlight gender stereotypes and gender representation in the play.

The play has some great moments of humour, music, drama, wit and riveting performances. The first half of Ladies Sangeet is very funny and the comedy punches about Indian traditions are fresh and will definitely leave you in splits. Things get a bit serious in the second half after Yash confesses to his wife about his well guarded secrets.

The set was well-designed by Shriram Iyengar and created the feel of an old haveli. Choreography by Bhavesh Gandhi was good. Lights by Argya Lahiri and Amogh Phadke were effective. One of the best and the most enjoyable part of Ladies Sangeet is singer and composer Shubha Mudgal’s music. Guitarist Harpreet Singh has collaborated with Mudgal on the soulful and melodious compositions. Songs form an integral part of the story and every character gets a chance to croon. The situations in the songs more often than not cleverly correspond to the story in the play.

All the actors were absolutely remarkable and captivated you with their shimmering performances. Loveleen Mishra is tremendous as Megha. Joy Sengupta as Yash is proficient. Nidhi Singh as Radha is okay while  Siddhartha Kumar as Sid is competent. Trisha Kale is adorable as the quick-witted Rukmini. The parts in which Rukmini and her dadi playfully spar over which bandishes to sing are charming. Nivedita Bhargava as Dadi is superb and charms you with her singing. Sarika Singh as Madhuri Bua is endearing. Niranjan Iyengar as Kailash does well. Sharib Hashmi as Hosadiya entertains you with his one liners and gyaan on life and relationships. He gets some of the best lines and makes the most of the opportunity.

Although Ladies Sangeet is not a perfect play and has its flaws but it still manages to cast a spell with the music and performances of its cast which makes it worth for a repeat watch.