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.
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.
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.
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