Review Corner

There are many reviews that come in after a show. This section is dedicated to the  best review,

Best Review for the 2nd Quarter for 2011 by Dushyanth Barodia …..

A couple of Months on one weekend in China, many questions came to mind:
What am i doing in the God forsaken land?
What am i doing in this city?
What am i doing in this profession?
WHAT AM I DOING?

These questions carried my thoughts to ALMA where i imagined rehearsals to be on full swing and everyone working hard to strike that perfect YT team chemistry and I felt “Kaash!!! Kaash!!! mai bhi wahan hota, kuch na kuch kaam toh mere layak bhi hota”. I thought all i could do is support YT to social media i am connected to, atleast i will have some contribution to the QUEST OF GOD and definitely i dont want to miss it.My Questions led me to a Quest to contribute, contribute to the wave called “BHAGWAAN DHOONDO”.

Luckily Bhagwaan did listen to the desperate request of mine and the 3 months “Vanvaas” was cut short to 1.5 months. Gladly i made back to bangalore in time to catch up on the event. A volunteer is a warrior which prepares the battle filed for the Big Guns to fire, and I was more than happy to be one.

The Show Day

The experience to watch the show on the small screen is altogether so different. I was on video camera and watching the show on the LCD panel of the camera, the lights, the background, the shades are so different, what i can see through eyes was so beautiful, arty and scenic, that is the reason theatre is always supposed to be watched in first person and not through any media, that is where the beauty of the performance lies. What is more amazing to see in a theatre show than a houseful. The Audi was completely packed and audience were lively, laughing giggling, whistling, applauding on each and every joke, punchline, or emotional twister thrown at them. People were amazed to see the new kind of theatre… While ushering i found so many Theater Virgins coming in, I did try to induct them and requested for an active participation and they did exactly that. The discussion part, oh boy i knew each one of them desperately was looking at the conductor to give them a chance and let them decide how to end the story, the zeal with which they wanted it showed how connected they felt to the story, they just wanted to let them write the destiny of the character… who knows they might have wanted their life to go on a similar path.

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Best Review for the IInd Quarter for 2011 by Ameet Bhuvan …..

Its always a tendency on our part to seek security. To remain in the safe zone. to retain the bubble of comfort and familiarity around us, anywhere we go, whatever we do.  So a south Indian would always carry the time tested mango pickle or curd rice recipe when off for a long stint in the north.

A bong would look for maacher jhol in the bylines of a vegetarian madurai.

A forlorn nri would run to the nearest screen showing that rare Hindi masala release and a kid would never part with his teddy each time he goes to sleep!

familiarity and comfort give us a sense of well-being, unravel our strengths. yet, it is necessary to break the pattern, to get out of the mold. To break free, let lose. remaining in that comfort zone stifles creativity, kills opportunities and prevents growth.

with BD, my comfort zone has been on the laptop in the light room 🙂 for a brief small window of time, I had the opportunity to step out of this comfort zone. Was elated, was lost and a lot confused. and just as i was preparing myself to rebuild my bubble from the scratch, am back in my zone 🙂

Am back to the light room, Back to where i belong, for now 🙂 but does this mean my growth is in peril? certainly not.

For patterns are never the same, however many times you draw the same one. Each attempt is bound to yield something new. something unique that missed my eye before. Innovation is never out of fashion. Practice can never be under rated!

so here I am, back on the sound. A chance to improve, a chance to reach coveted perfection. A chance to revel in my comfort zone 🙂

and like i always say, I am loving it 🙂

Till about an year and a half ago, whenever I used to look into my microscope, I was always left immensely dazzled. There on my slides, used to be immaculately structured and designed colonies of e.coli, salmonella and what have you. Irrespective of what the microbe was, there was always one thing common to them, PATTERN.   Intricate structure of an onion peel. A dragon fly’s wing. The veins that run through a leaf’s lower base and the detailing on a snake’s skin. The arrangement of actin and myosin fibers in our muscles and the way a single drop of water runs down the glass of a window pane. PATTERNS govern life and nature. For all we know and don’t, nature is the greatest artist of them all! And the greatest mathematician too, for every PATTERN she makes is governed and based upon sound calculations and symmetry.

PATTERNS have a multiplicity of meanings, from a shape, to blueprint, to structure, thread of development or repetition, or a concept. Nature didn’t make them to show off her sense of aesthetics. PATTERNS give depth to perception, vent to experience and a platform to evolution.  With PATTERNS, nature created a living dynamic and forever changing entity that lured the senses, while simultaneously challenging and invigorating the mind. With PATTERNS, Playback too does the same.

Each time I see actors create and recreate PATTERNS on stage, the following rings so true in my mind:  “Each pattern describes a problem which occurs over and over again and again in our environment, and then describes the core of the solution to that problem, in such a way that you can use this solution a million times over, without ever doing it the same way twice.” (Alexander, 1977)

PATTERNS liven up the humblest of flowers and the ugliest of creatures.

PATTERNS jazz up the most drab of stories or the weakest of moments on stage

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Best Review for the Ist Quarter for 2011 by Arun Sachi …..

From a Common Man , Common Man Ver2.0

 What’s common between me and you? What’s not so common between me and you? Do we choose to be common? Being common is so common. Being common is so easy. What happens to common man? Is there a voice to common man? What are the trial and tribulations that a common man goes through? An insight and dissection of these thoughts is, Yours Truly Theatre‘s Presentation “Common Man Ver 2.0 “.

Life of a common man is Food for thought, I thought. I was eagerly waiting for the premiere as I had watched the first show of Common man few years ago and wanted to see how the commonness progressed in the years gone by . I’m not going to spill the beans about the story, however I want share the overall experience being in oneness with the performance. Music, lights and performance. An 3D experience in true sense .You have be there to know the touch of story and feel of theater play.

To Start with, Anchors In truly Yours truly Style,did a audience warm-up activity that set the tone for the evening. After that it was a riot of colors and laughter and applause. Common Man Franchise has grown both in size and production quality. The Performance was, as ever, best. To mention few highlights and sequences that were etched in my memory , actors in a black dress in a with a torch light are searching for the path and “Common man” lost and looked for light in his life … .The shower of postage’s ,sequencing of _thorns in life_ act , Symbolism of Umbrella’s and last but not the least , Voice of common man that resonated from the start to the end , in form of narration , situation and in the end Voice of common man himself . What makes the whole act even endearing is the Amazing chemistry and comfort between the actors. Its looked so simple(=Natural) and easy. But I’ bet that simplicity is amazingly complicated to achieve and the actors would have slogged to get the sync / simplicity. Among the things I observed was discipline of actors on stage .The performers made sure the stage was clean, at every point the postage’s trickled down as a part of the act or just when it fell at random .The same discipline reflected in their performance too.To point at some performance’s in specific felt MRF was little effort-ed at couple of places.Also the ending went little tangent to the story stitched for the ending in the first two sequence’s and then the back on track with what audience had suggested . That’s beauty of interactive/improvisational theater . Applause Applause . Life in a Common man ramps up from Confusion to Clarity, Darkness to Colors, and Evolution to existence .Silence to voice. “Common man” has arrived or Ver 2.0 shall I say !

Production Wise :
1.   Great music . Agam was surprise package . It definitely gave depth and dimension to the sequences enacted .They did “Agam’ed ” the original soundtrack and lyrics from the earlier version , and a fantastic background score as well . Ditto to the set design and the SFX .
2.  A note about costumes . If my memory fetches me right it was White Shirt and Black Pants/jeans and some colorful duppatas, in the first show , that graduated to Jackets / gowns / colorful ensemble. This definitely added the required nativity to the sequence enacted and grandness to the frame.
3.  Kudos to the team of YT for putting such a great show.

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Best Review for the IVth Quarter for 2010 by Dushyanth …..

” Pyasa Heeran jaise,
Dhunde hai jal ko,
Aise Prabhu mai tujhe dhund raha,
Aise Prabhu mai tujhe dhund raha…”

The race for GOD with face of success,
The Search for GOD with face of happiness,
The hunt for GOD with face of Money,
The chase for GOD with face of passion,
The quest for GOD with face of peace,
The pursuit for GOD with my face…

In nut shell Bhagwaan Dhundo…

Finally finally finally … I have seen Bhagwaan Dhundo play… i had missed three chances to view it this year and finally on 4th attempt i have made it… I was not even aware of what i was missing for so long. Its not a play that i was missing, i was missing a phenomena …

The D day :

The day started with not much of pressure, this being the fifth all the other members of the team were very clear on what has to be done and by whom, and Rupa with her all jovial smile assigned the work (front desk and ushering team) and we were on to it. Some team members were down but only on health, all others aspect such as Energy, Attitude and Enthu were on full High.I wonder what kind of PONGAL they ate 😛 I really dont know what was happening inside the auditorium as I was instructed by Nandini not to see rehearsal and Devshree was making sure i dont enter even when i had some work on my hand :D… I am glad i did not see most of it on rehearsal because the experience i had while watching would not have been the same.

The Painting: I knew the backdrop was painted by some big shot painter but i guess i dont understand art that much, but looking at the backdrop of BD the first time in my life i was actually searching for something in it. The city all messed up and still systematic, the city in chaos and still clean, city that is lost and still right infront of us.

The Start: The freeze moments and mechanical moments were a lot synchronized that i have seen from our workshop time and I know its because of the experience all the actors carried along with them to  this show. The old ancient tribal scene was a picture perfect, the way all actors were moving along with the music really gave goosebumps to me.Chetan sir … kya bolte ho yaar … dialogue delivery crisp clear and bang on target. Shalini, Ramya and Nandini were actually resembling to people from a same dance group with synchronized waving of ribbon. the positioning was really very consistent… all the stage covered, I guess devshree’s planets were glowing good 🙂

The Painter: I was seeing Ranji act on stage for the first time and what a performance I say … CHANAGIDIRA … 🙂 … Sumit was such a support which established the character so well… I am sure he reminded all of us of someone who supports you, ur best friend, uncle, teacher or neighbors. The struggle was portrayed in such a classy way that i could actually see a movie right infront of me and relate them to my daily life, people around.

The HUHA KABADDI: what a symbolism shown in that small act. Very much describes the society we stay in following the “bhaed chaal” and doing what others do as a tried and tested formula. I actually was making out two points out of it 1. An idea can change a society 2. ek gundi machli poore taalaab ko gunda kar sakti hai. Both the messages have a thing to teach.

The GIRL looking for boy: Change the gender and its every guys story … most of them looking for gals … not to marry as first preference but to just have someone in this city. Nandini the bubbly enthusiastic quality of the character was very much visible and expression of shock, embarrassment on every boy she met were caught on spot, even the audience next to me were saying see her eyes they are expressing the emotion.(I realised later the pain in eyes was real… her toe nail was out 😦 ) Rajni sir and Fresh maal Ranji… your characters seriously took the audience out of deep emotion to humour and then music pulled them back to emotion… awesome roller coaster ride I SAY… 🙂

The Joker: Sumit sir kya bole…. kamaal kar ditta kamaal kar ditta… the timing of your humour in the character was impeccable and it definitely stirred a lot of people… as we all can connect to it… what we wanted to be in childhood and what we end up in our youth to earn… and real question put forward on yer face is … how many actually follow back there dreams at the end.

The Modern Day Couple: The relationship values have definitely changed in our society and this act was definitely bringing it to notice of everyone. I am sure many committed couples might be asking each other after the play… Are you actually gonna marry me because even you say let me be stable first ? A very bright concept and a humorous ending to lingering question in our society…

The Innocence lost : The performance with the hoods on… the evil floating all around, the desires, the attraction towards short cuts and the making of the EVIL in our innocence — the growing up. Abhijeet I know you are not a very innocent guy but the character was really very cutely shown, engulfed by the materialism of society which made you a part of a cult, cult of dishonest people ( although they try put on the hood but missed it a couple of times 😀 ) … All i wanted to say after the scene was ” ANDHERA KAYAM RAHE !!! ”

The Puppet : The start with a lil bit of contemporary dance step …. Man Vishal that step was marvellous … that scorpian turn was just WOW. The transformation to puppet and all the things that you went through were a daily household routine for many… the audience were murmurring on every character that was coming and guiding you… i guess they connected to some idea or other. A perfect execution of puppetry and ZING ZANG ZOOM performance.

The SFX team: awesome work guys … the men in black were looking so smart, the unmarried once out of the four could actually have asked some gals out… 🙂

The Music: Ameet … Bravo is the word… the rehearsed piece were Great but the thing you did in Improvisational part was terrific … the chemistry of a team work was very much evident.

Deepak: Lighting was as if configured to music… the lights were actually dancing on the beats of the music… great work even when you r not well .. i wonder if you were well you would have made a show just from lights…

Aditya, Angelin, Mithila, Devshree, Savyasachi, Ayesha : awesome efforts by you guys in coordinating event smoothly.

Shantha Kumar : A true Event manager, focused and silent but making sure nothing goes from one place to another without reason.

The Improvisation part : I have seen playback by the four characters playing the last part, but with music and lighting this part was a different experience. I learnt a lot on how an idea can be elaborated and the story woven around it. I personally would not have suggested a women to women relationship as 880 gals to 1000 boys is odd enough 120 guys still dont get gals :P… just kidding so please dont come with blazing guns for this thought. Face book i every place now, and very well introduced in the plot … the poking thing was really cute.

I guess the dish is ready and garnishing done … SO Guys help your self to this one thought of Mine … 🙂

Best Review for the IIIrd Quarter for 2010 by Chidambar …..

Weather was soothing
Audience was pleasing
Tiny eyes were beaming
Innocent smile was radiating
Natural set up was enticing
And the stage/dream was beckoning

The day started off with a dose of rehearsals in the run up to the show,well that dose was enough to put us into the dream till afternoon. And at the Venue, Everything was falling in place at a lightning speed. Time was moving faster than usual; energy was higher than normal rehearsal day. Could not make out what was happening, whatever was needed for the show was naturally set up, be it trees,flowers and the shade. Ideas, thoughts and actions flooded the place all together. We moved from one layer to other in higher energy chasing the butterfly flying up high in the air, time gaining speed with every layer. So did the kids, who followed our movements .Claps and laughter came from the unexpected quarters. As we were running out of ideas to catch the elusive golden butterfly, kids were already jumping around to show us the butterfly. Then the Kaminey Duniya was introduced to the kids. Kids n teachers alike, were pointing at each other as the story unfolded.  Images, for sure, will make kids think twice before they bunk the classes and go out with strangers!The stage/show was a dream shared in more ways than one. It was an inception of an actor’s journey to many a members who debuted. It was an inception to kids, whose minds were planted with the noble ideas. Then we had an architect of the show/dream in Nandini, who coordinated the show and the timely kick to get us back into the reality. The other “Inception” premiered on Friday, ours on Saturday :-)Apart from these abstract thoughts, written in the hangover of the show as well as the movie. It was a total fun day to hang out with kids. As a kid, I personally hated Sat mornings for having to get up earlier than usual weekday time for the school. PE periods were the only consoling part of the otherwise sleepy sessions till afternoon. But this time around, I was eager to get up and go to school. Felt nostalgic as we walked into the school compound. As it was a government school, had never expected so much liveliness in the class. However to my surprise, the classes were filled with colorful and yet meaningful pictures, reminding us all the fun we had making or tearing similar things during our school days. It was fun watching few of us trying to read what was written all over the walls. The innocent faces, few smiling and few crying, few surprised and few confused as we started chatting with them. They maintained the same level of enthusiasm and energy all throughout the show. It was Amazing to see Anganwadi kids quietly enjoying the show.Only after speaking to Sushmita, the blind girl, and her close friends after the show, did I realize the “The Butterfly Effect” in “Kaminey” Duniya. Good Job guys ! Thank you all.Special thanks to Nandini for the great show. And for great Opportunity given to us! Looking forward to many more fun filled Saturdays. Cheers. Chidambar

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 This quarter we have covered 2 reviews one by an outsider and one by an insider

Best Review for the IInd Quarter for 2010 by Manish Gandhi ( a non Yt-ian) …..

 

SO it was excruciating to find this place where these young (don’t trust em if they say they are ageing- look at Ranji, he looks like my younger brother) theatre enthusiasts (henceforth referred to as the YTclan) get together every weekend to work their ass off to produce some genuine artistic work.

 Basically all what they do- is what all the hotshot “theatre people” graduated from NSD, RADA et al haven’t ever been able to do- sincerely work for the propagation of an art form and not propagate themselves through an art form. So we know the difference:Other Groups: Enthu People(disincentive)->Art Form in the background ->Faces in the foreground,
While at Yours Truly: Faces in the background-> Enthu People(motivated)-> Art Form in the foreground

Lemme get back to the track- I had always doubted their work for reasons that I still find valid, ofcourse I no more doubt the authenticity of their work after I witnessed the entire thing first hand. It was father’s day. Ranji and Nandini took me out for lunch and even after an hour long intervention into yours truly, I was unable to buy the fact that how everything is just created on-the-spot until they demonstrated it and I think they knew that am a hard nut to crack so they made me the lead(am lacking the technical vocabulary so am writing what I feel like) and enacted my story.

And it was father’s day, I felt more connected to my father watching that performance than I feel now when I am home with him. I had no choice but to accept that it was spontaneous and not-at-all-planned but it took some great sensitive human beings, some well-informed people, some trained, dedicated and skilled actors to ‘live’ my story and well, it was like-you know-jizz in my pants, that’s the feeling.

But I think these people have really worked hard to be there where they are, truly inspiring for some lazy bums like me. I ‘d write again, perhaps even if I get the technical vocab right, include the citations that I made, no words can express those moments of life that I experienced there in that space, that highly positive space.

Manish is a student of F T I  (Film & Television Institute) 2010,  was on a journey, when he visited ALMA to understand YoursTulyTheatre’s work and improvizational theatre performances, all the way from Pune.

 

Best Review for the IInd Quarter for 2010 by Manojna Acharya…..

Well, iv been told of being a very inactive online YT member.
But this time, i  have no choice but to share my thoughts,feelings and emotions which are rushing into my head! this experience wasn’t very ordinary for me to forget about it.

Bhagwaan dhoondo, has left me searching. Not so much when i watched it, but the after-effects of it i must say are something that i never imagined a play would do to me!

As i waited for my friends to arrive for the show, the excitement was building up in me. They are people who really matter to me, and they were going to be here, watching a  play by a team i was part of. As much as i wanted them to like it, i knew it would be much more and much bigger than i had expected. And it was!

The begining, when creatures started pouring in with wierd costumes under subtle lights and danced to the catchy music, was a great start. The play had its crescendos and downfalls in the right amount at right intervals. The upbeat ‘city-life’ dance was really peppy, so were the costumes and the actors.Then came the abstractions, the meanings, the emotions and the laughter.. all in the right amount.Right amount of humor was thrown in in every act just enough to keep the audiences going and not be too preachy with the serious part which is something that i really liked.

The characters were beautifully created and even more beautifully performed.the joker and the painter were two charcters that have remained with me. Needless to say the costumes made the whole act bigger and better! all compositions were simply brilliant, the search with lights, the movements and the ends of every act.Music was awesomeOne word for it all.. ENTERTAINING!

From the tribal dance to the peppy number to the unknown man’s agony to everyone’s favourite joker to the rotating umbrella, the play never siezed to entertain. Yes! my friends loved it and were extremely happy to have come. I felt lucky to be part of this group! Great job guys.

I am inspired for sure.Thanks for giving us all enough food for thought…. Manogna

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Best Review for the Ist Quarter for 2010 by Ranjith Raj…..

 

What is it to be a child again? 

It must be about still believing in loveliness, still believing in love, still believing that the angels and fairies reach out to whisper in our ears, still believing in beauty and peace in the heart and soul. It’s about still having the spirit, cleansed by baptism, still intact and untainted within us. And it’s about innocence and about purity. I once told a friend that the soul is the purest and most beautiful thing in the world; and we keep picking up grudges and bitterness along the course of life and stain our souls. Children still have that purity we were born with, still intact in their souls. Our show at Makkala Jagriti was indeed special. It was the day we denim clad urban cowboy souls made a difference to a lives of a lot of little souls. It was when the show was judged not by ticket sales or sold-out signs but by pure enthusiasm, heartfelt appreciation and innocent admiration. It was when we discovered the true power of theatre; of reaching out and connecting. From the stage to outside it. From one soul to another.

My one thought was when we asked the children what they wanted to be when they grew up. Some said doctor, some engineer, some actor….. One day, they might just become that; or may become something better. The thing is we might just never know. We might just never meet these little guys again.  But what we do know is that for that one day, we were all together in that room and we truly and really connected.  And I don’t think either of us will forget that in a hurry.

The most distinct thought in my mind was Neeraj asking a child (Suleiman Khan) what he wanted to do and Suleiman said that he wanted to be an actor, a hero and Neeraj put a cape around his neck and did a Superman.  I think it brought the house down.  Now Neeraj and I have one thing in common : Kannada language doesn’t know us so we place Kannada up there with Greek, Latin and Malayalam (Score: Raj-1, Neeraj-0; I know mallu! J). But without knowing Kannada (or vice versa), I think Neeraj did a great job. And of course, the other actors were brilliant their unique ways; the other guys from the heart-touching club (actors) being Tanvi, Abhijit, Chetan, Sudharshan, Vishal and the MC Ashish.  We volunteers were lucky to have experienced anything like the act these guys put up that day. Kudos to Madhu, Nandhini, Ranji, Sumit and Gopi for making all this happen.

They say that the remainder of a year will be a reflection of the first act you do that year.

2010 should rock!!!

 

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Best Review for the IVth Quarter of 2009 by Deepak…..

 My thought about MT show:

 

EK TAMANNA MERI POORI HO GAYI
ITIHAAS MAIN PAHLI BAAR SHAYARI JINDA HO GAYI
SHAYARI AB KALAM SE NAHI KALAA SE LIKHI GAYI
KUCH LOGO KI ZINDAGI MAIN MEETHA RAS GHOL GAYI
EK TAMANNA MERI POORI HO GAYI

HAWA KAA EK ZHONKAA FIZA MADHOSH KAR DETA HAI
KOYAL KAA KUUHNA KAANO MAIN MEETHA RAS BHAR DETA HAI
MT MAIN SHAYARI KAA SAMAA LOGO KE JEHAN MAIN RANG BHAR DETA HAI

 

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Best Review for the IIIrd Quarter by Ashish…..

“Signs team performed at Government Girl’s Home last Saturday. After the performance, we had a small meeting where Chetan mentioned that generally, the girls living there spend their Saturdays cleaning utensils, cleaning their rooms, washing clothes, etc. We performing for them helped them in breaking from their usual routine to have some fun. We had other volunteers who shared their experience and thoughts along with the actors. I listened. It was only after reaching home, I realized. 

On reaching home, I was just lying on my bed when I suddenly went backwards in time to see the kids watching our play, I saw them laughing at the scene of all the actors crying because they are missing their best cricketer,  I saw them laughing whenever the genie was tickled and whenever made to dance. I saw them watching every second of our play with complete interest. And then, comes in front of me the image of the same kids washing utensils, washing clothes. As a kid of their age, I never had to wash glasses and plates, I never had to clean my room and never had to wash clothes. I had my mom to love me, to care for me. I had a father to look after my needs and illogical wishes. I had all the luxuries I wanted. I had a pretty easy childhood. I realized how difficult life is without parents, especially at that age. I realized what the kids at Government Girl’s Home are going through. How at this age, they spend most of their free time in keeping their premises clean, rather than playing. Who do they go and share their problems with? Who do they complain if they get hurt, hoping to get some consolation in return? The kids at Government Girl’s Home are a precocious lot, whom life has taught hard lessons at a very young age. Our play brought them back to their age. They were kids again, they were laughing, having fun, just like their age kids do, just like did when we were kids. Like kids, they all wanted more chocolates, just like we wanted a box full of them at that age.

I don’t know how happy I made the kids with my performance last Saturday. But, it made me happy and satisfied for sure. I am left with a feeling of achievement, which I have very rarely felt in my life. I don’t know if I have succeeded in helping the starfish reach its home. I don’t know if I made any difference to that starfish at all. But, I am sure I have given moments of joy to it, while it was facing difficult times. I am sure that I diverted its mind from all those worries of not able to find its home, for some time though. I don’t mind getting my pants pulled, I don’t mind getting my kurta torn, I don’t mind getting myself tickled and doing an item number (even when not requested) all over again, just to make those kids laugh again. All of these, just to see them having fun, again.”

Yours truly,
Ashish Bhuwania. 

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Best Review for the IInd Quarter by Vishal…..

Walking around, shouting “look at me” of unheard screams inside our Common Man.

I was asked upon to Document the 7th show of Common Man which was performed at Satish Dhavan Auditorium, IISC.

I knew this much about the task on hand; it wasn’t going to be as easy as trying out kung fu stunts with my dog.

So I came prepared with a notebook + pen and here goes.

A set of talented actors (squeezed in the wings), a witty conductor, exited team of chirpy volunteers, a Musician, a singer (who came all the way from Mumbai for this show) some technicians and a mass of audience were all aboard this `ship’ of a story called `Common Man’.Huh.

Ranji David invited and introduced the theatre group that Yours Truly is. The gathered brains among the audience were challenged to enact a couple of tableaus. Some artistically inclined brains passed this test after much persuasion. Adarsh took over the mike and shattered the ice with his `stub the ciggy’ trick. For the first time a truce between non-smokers and smokers?

Sitting among the audience, I couldn’t help but notice the pattern. The audience, being the intellectual lot that they are, were amused at dialogues of the play which concerned education, work and love making. The Office scene, the Amir khan of ghajini, A_B_C_D… and such other scenes aroused muffled ha,ha’s from the crowd. The Swamiji scene was an instant hit as it resulted in uncontrollable giggles at all quarters among the watching. ( Notice that i am not revealing the first half of the story)

`Complete the Story’, being the nature of the play, the ship came to a sudden freeze.

We were looking at the possibility of treading into uncharted waters. Adarsh, the captain, came to our rescue inviting reactions and perspectives. At first, the clueless crowd seemed to not realize the task given to them. Slowly, yet definitely the perspectives did trickle down their minds.

After a series of discussions, democratic opinion polls and debates, the fate and journey of the ship was decided and Adarsh interweaved the various reactions. The common man, Amol `babu’ (as one audience member called him) gains celebrity status after the show is aired on TV. A reality show hires him for a certain period of time. As time passes by, the interest fades and Amol slides back into oblivion. The show uses this common-ness as a means to attract TRP ratings. A new common man is hired, then used and finally discarded. An assembly line of common men later, the surplus turn to Amol for help. Amol owing to growing pleas from the abused, then starts an agency to uplift and celebrate `Common’ ness.

Without a second’s hesitation, the actors quickly started to portray vividness to the interlaced story. “The impromptu acting was brilliant and abstract” said one audience after the show. My personal favourite scene was the over confidence shown by one of the common men and how he gets overpowered and dumped by a gang of reality show thugs.

As the show ended, I began to wonder what other reactions which were voted out, would have affected the story. Reactions such as; `the show does not get aired on TV’, or `it was all just a dream’, would have turned the story onto a completely different direction. There were other suggestions which were lost during the debate, such as `common man abusing the celebrity status’, `resorting to drugs’ and `going into self destruct mode’, `suicide’. These would have brought out a darker perspective to Amol’s character.

The ending could have also tickled our funny sides with reactions such as the `Amol finding a look alike at the reality show’, `Amol is cloned’ or `Amol caught on camera buying a condom’.

However CTS by itself is completely subjective to the audience’s whims and imagination.

The story ended with the ship coming back to the shores of reality around us.

However it came with a treasure trunk of hope for the common ness of the common man of today.

 

Written by Vishal…..

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Best Reveiw for the Ist Quarter by Vivek and Harish

Here Goes……. two interesting reviews, one in a poem format and one in an analysis format

REVIEW #1:  THE HUMDRUM

so I landed up at

Rangashankara exactly on time. The title being ‘the common man’, it was pretty much the story of each of us, at least bits and pieces of it. Well, some scenes are etched in memory, like the one where the common man is consumed by the everyday, almost banal activities, and he is drowned in the world of everyday human drama(the use of umbrellas was quite a simile i must admit, dark and convex, telling on how people repel others and how self obsessed each of us become!). 

The overall stillness of the play was something that caught my eye too. The way  ‘the common man’ stops to observe as the whole world simply does its dhunda*. The use of veils was also pretty neat, the veil to dance around, also a veil to ignore, a veil used or abused.

The characters like the wife, the father, the brother, the sister-in-law, the office junta and its high self involvement and its involuntary will to hurt others though a cliched was relevant nevertheless, accompanied by social commentary. Some phases seemed a little less important, and did not seem to fit in, but the common man never fits in too. BTW, the common man never talks and that is wonderful because it is never him that exists in the first place, it is almost like the lives of others which he is living and that makes complete sense for others to talk about him.

The style of theater was complete the story and the audience was to be involved to stitch and ending. Trust me the audience always will come up with similar endings and any absurdities will lead to a brief moment of laughter!

Well, what I don’t agree with the play is how the common man is defined totally by what others think about him, and his complete lack of self respect. Almost making him weak, or as they call some say ‘innocent’.  Also moments of self deprecation, moral dilemmas, ideological misplacement  which threaten the loss of  oneself in the true sense was missing. A brief moment covering this would make the common man more common!

A nice play, affable, brief moments of laughter,  moments of brilliance etc is how I would describe the play. Mundane yet special, with characters of everyday life, dark and shallow!

Kudos yours truly! Add a few more things and I think that would make this a classic!

-The non-theater expert

*dhunda=activity, a little secretive, at times reluctant 

Contributed by: Vivek Desai

REVIEW #2: A Story

It is a story about a common man 

An ordinary Man

Who dreams of living an Extraordinary life.

Emotions he displays are passive

Silence and not words are his friends

Things around him moves

But he doesn’t wanted to get out of the groove

At Close quarters he looks like a guy enjoying

His misery!!!

He wants to change, but cant muster

The courage to change…

So what is he is waiting for?

Opportunities, which would elevate him?

Aren’t opportunities created?

Than waited upon

Don’t say little does he know?

He knows it quite well!!!

He knows the cause of his misery…

It is not the situation, but it is he!!!

He waits for the things to happen

He waits for the things around him to change

He waits for people to applaud

He waits for people to abandon him

He waits for his miseries to grow….

He waits for his death

Blessed is he!!!!

For his sound metal and physical faculties

Blessed is he!!!!!

For his ability to take charge…

Ignorant is he of appreciating life

Ignorant is he of the uncommon things..

For him his worlds starts and ends with his common problems…

Little does he appreciate the joy of sharing

Little does he appreciate that happiness comes with contentedness

Little does he realize that smile spreads with smile…

He seeks sympathy for the sufferings inflicted on him by himself…

There is a common man with in all of us…

“Waiting and wanting to be loved …”

“Expecting to be appreciated…”

“Afraid of being rejected…”

“Despiteful of being cheated.. ”

And yet this very own common man with in us refuses to accept that

“Revolution is a festival of the oppressed…”

 

Contributed by: Harish Ramamurthi