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Imagine a judge suffering from cervical cancer, an autistic boy coming to terms with her mother’s death, a corporate lawyer discovering that she was adopted after her real mother killed her abusive father and then committed suicide, and a sex worker recounting how she was subjected to child abuse every day at a rehabilitation centre for kids. The plot sounds like sad saga. But the play, ‘Amavas Se Amaltas’, which was based on this plot, was exactly the opposite.
It was a play that asked to look beyond the losses and rejoice what is left. Staged at the Epicentre in Gurgaon, the play starred popular showbiz faces like Jayati Bhatia, Ssumier S Pasricha, Ankita Bhargava and Chitrashi Rawat. Written and directed by Smita Bharti, the play left a lasting impression on the minds of the audience. It narrated the story of a dysfunctional family, while highlighting the issue of human trafficking and bonded labour. While their lives were entwined, the four characters in the play charted their own individual journey,defeating all odds. Jayati’s Shikha was a former judge, who was shown fighting cervical cancer, Ssumier’s autistic Jai allegedly killed his own mother and was often considered a threat to everyone’s life, Ankita’s Shonali couldn’t understand why her mother Shikha cared more about the ‘filth on the road’, referring to victims of child trafficking like Chitrashi’s Khushi. But the focus of the play remained on the silver linings.
The TV producer duo Sudhir and Seema Sharma have produced many hit shows like Karol Bagh, Miley Jab Hum Tum and Na Bole Tum Na Hamne Kuch Kaha under their production house Sunshine productions and it is their first theatre venture in association with theatre veteran Smita Bharti under the banner Aganpakhee.
The play also had a few dance sequences choreographed by Sandip Soparrkar that made it more engaging. Among the audience members was former actress Meghna Kothari. She said,
“I had to come because Jayati is a dear friend but I also loved the play. It was very touching.”
After the show, Ankita told us,
“I have been doing theaters since college. The play tells you that no human being is 100% right or wrong and we all lie in shades of grey. We all have our shortcomings and we need to work on that.” She added, “Being from the TV industry, everybody rehearsed after pack-up. It required a lot of energy and time.”
Chitrashi shared,
“I enjoyed playing this character. I danced and sang and jumped and I hoped people liked it. This is my fourth play in two years and it’s not too bad. Gradually I am learning to slay it on stage.” All the four actors had a good time traveling in an auto in Gurgaon and the pics surely speak thousand words..
