"What goes around" English play presented in Andheri (Mumbai) on 29.4.2023

The detective of lackluster love

हिंदी में समीक्षा के लिए -   यहाँ क्लिक करके क्रम सं. 17 देखिए 

The wife is not worried about the dwindling love for her husband, rather she is worried about not getting a response from her old best friend for last two years and hires a detective for this.

There are fair chances that I could not comprehend the true story but here is what I could get to. There is a young couple living together. The wife is worried for a matter why her best friend has not been respondng to her for last two years. The husband is confused about the importance of it. But the wife is so disturbed that she takes the help of a female detective to solve the riddle of indifference in her bestie. The detective is advised by the Wife not to reveal her identity and purpose. The detective tries to contact the wife's bestie but by mistake meets the guy's brother and considers him as her client's bestie. She pretends to be his lover and comes into physical relationship with him. The moment later, when the man knows that the excellent love behaviour from the woman was actually for his brother who was misidentified in him then he feels cheated. Ultimately, she comes back to her client and passes on her findings. Now the husband also seems to compensate somewhere else for his lackluster love relationship with his wife. Ultimately, something happens in a manner that the strong vibes of love is again rejuvenated in the couple.

Here & Now Entertainment presented “What Goes Around”, a comedy by Jeff Baron, directed by Nikhil Kedia, starring Aakash Prabhakar, Aiman Mukhtiar, Farzana Palathingal and Ismeet Kohli. The venue was Dafney Studi, Andheri (Mumbai).

As you can see, there is not merely a love triangle rather a love polygon under play. Though there is a detective for solving the hodge-podge, it is not a suspense drama. The bizarre happenings makes it a comedy. But the underlying issues are such a burning issue of today that you are more inclined to think  rather than laughing over it.

The director has done an excellent job and the whole set is changed frequently in just seconds with the help of four wooden cubes and wearing and removal of a handy outer attire of a different colour. Even the colour difference of shirts is brought by just reversing the sides of the attire while wearing. If all the four cubes are in a straight line then it forms a sleeping bed for the couple and if they are arranged with one put sideways then it is a living room. Putting the cubes corner to corner in a straight line creates the scene of a different location.

As the motif itself was sexual life, it was replete with bedroom scenes. The actor's actions looked real in such scenes though it was not. And this is why a drama is said to be more dignified medium than cinema. In drama you present all such scenes through the postures and very short dark sequences where the main object is to convey the story and not to arouse any sort of wrongful emotions. The situation is often just reverse in cinema where often the purpose itself is to arouse sensuality in viewers.

There were six characters played by just three actors named  . The only male actor did his work extremely naturally. His facial expression, body movements and dialogue delivery were perfect. The actor playing Detective and a lover girl was also true to her roles. The girl playing the Wife also acted well but I don't know why she kept her eyes closed while delivering dialogues. 

The play was worthy to watch not only for its funny tale which tingles you intermittently but also for the way it was presented in a seamless manner. 

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Review by- Hemant Das 'Him'

Respond to - hemantdas2001@gmail.com / editorbejodindia@gmail.com