All Talk and No Action

It's not very often that plays come to my side of the town. So when, not one, but two make an appearance, I make it a point to revel in this art form.

Yesterday Salesman Ramlal played at a nearby Academy. Here is my take -

Based on Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Salesman Ramlal traced the life of an old salesman, his ordinary life and extraordinary dreams.

On the face of it, the story spoke about the trials of one man, his unfulfilled dreams and aspirations.

But dig a little and you would see various themes being touched upon - parental love and expectations, mid life crisis, a guilty man's face off with himself and most important, individualism.

While Ramlal has always believed that he and his sons are capable of extraordinary feats, has wrapped himself in a cocoon, in reality they are only ordinary mortals, who would be failures, if you applied a textbook definition to it.

While you are deciding what the play is really about - the theme comes out neatly in the second half - that it is OK to be ordinary and it is absolutely fine to not want to do much with your life.

Only, you have to be strong enough to deal with your choice.

Performances - Ramlal, portrayed by Satish Kaushik, is an old and tired man. A tough role to enact, while Kaushik does a good job of bringing out the battle in Ramlal's head, I just couldn't sympathise with his Ramlal. Very often he reminded me of Eshwar (Anil Kapoor), from the movie Eshwar, in his mannerisms and gait. Again, a lot of over the top dialogue delivery just marred what could have been excellent, poignant moments in the play.

Having said that, I loved Ganga (Ramlal's wife), played by Seema Biswas. The sons, portrayed by Kishore Kadam and Raj Arjun, brought a very nice realism to Ramlal's escapism.

And though I am no authority on music, I have to say that the background score of the play was very good ! It blended perfectly and just set the right mood for the melancholy..

Overall, a good play, with some thoughtful insights into an everyday life.

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I just can't help but add here - For all the plays I have seen, I have loved the food at all the auditoriums !!

Shanmukhanda ho ya NCPA - khaane ka jawab nahi !

Garam garam Idli - granular and freshly steamed. Nice spicy chutney. Hot and amazing upma...sluurrrp...Somehow, I always enjoy the Indian fare more than the burgers and waffers there.

Really why don't we have more plays ??!

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This seems to be an amazing week. Yesterday Salesman Ramlal and tomorrow 30 days in September. Though I am not a fan of Lillete and Neha Dubey and didn't think much of their Wedding Album, I still look forward to 30 days...and hope it is a better fare this time around.