A growing love for theatre

Hyderabad boasts of a thriving theatre culture and for the past few years it has been growing in leaps and bounds. Few years ago it was only Lamakaan and Our Sacred Space that theatre enthusiasts would flock to. But the recent years saw new places coming up like Phoenix Arena along with the most recent one, the Apollo Foundation Theatre situated inside the Apollo Hospital Complex in Filmnagar. Just a few months old, the place is surely picking up pace to host many plays and cultural activities. On Saturday, Ek Anaar Sau Bimar was staged by Rangeen Sapney Theatre group.

As the group is known for staging hard-hitting, socially relevant plays twisted with a comic touch, this time too they didn’t fail to entertain the audience. Elaborating about the play, director Surender Sahil Verma says, “We try to come up with new plays every month and this time too it’s a new play. We will be staging it across the city at different venues so that many people can watch it. 

The plot revolves around Kanpur city in Uttar Pradesh, where a fake baba has claimed that there’s 100 tonnes of gold and other valuables buried under a local school. The story unfolds with how various characters in the play get affected by the baba.” The play was initially a 15-minute skit written by Bhushan Tiwari, later it was developed into the one-hour-and-thirty-minute-long play. “The skit had won prizes at a few competitions but it was really a challenge to write the script for such a long play,” says Bhushan. Playing one of the main leads, Capt. Ahmed donned the role of an MLA whose life turned upside down due to baba. He says, “Coming from an army background, it was difficult for me to get into the skin of an MLA who has great comic timing. In the army, with great discipline we tend to become stiff but it was my love for the stage that got me into it. Earlier also I have played serious roles but comedy, for me, is a new revelation.” Another newcomer in the group was Ajay, an IT professional who played the role of the vicious baba. “Getting the opportunity to play a character that has many shades is a challenge in itself. And it being my first foray on stage, I was very nervous but I guess I did well,” he says.