Renowned American playwright and novelist, Thornton Wilder once said, “I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
This seems to be the thought behind The Playmakers’ latest production, Achhe Din written and directed by one of the founding members, Vineet Bhatia. We were privileged to have a tête-à-tête with him where he shed light on the creative process that went behind this play.
Achhe Din is a collection of five short plays about people you and I meet everyday in our lives. Inspired by daily newspaper reports, Vineet Bhatia weaves together these stories featuring an unemployed glutton, an innocuous butcher, a street smart salesman, a sportsman and an underpaid hero. These are the stories about “common men and women” and how government policies affect their lives. The play, however, is not a critique of the government. Mr. Bhatia emphasises that although the individual short plays talk about various topical social issues their aim is to entertain and not to preach.
These stories are those which we read in the newspapers every morning but forget by the time we move on to the next article. Achhe Din, a dark comedy, is an attempt to bring us out of our cocoon and see the world as it is. However, these serious subjects are dealt with lightly and with humour.
This troupe is not made up of professional actors but of people who share a love for the performing arts and wish to bring some change to society via theatre. The lighting and set design of the play focuses on being as realistic as possible and does not try to incorporate elaborate surreal themes or set ups. Mr. Bhatia told us how he is still learning the technicalities of theatre. His primary objective is to tell a good story.
“Storytelling is my forte”, say Vineet Bhatia
According to him, a good play must make the audience feel something be it joy, sorrow or shock. For Vineet Bhatia, theatre is a medium which gives him liberty.
Come watch this play at Kalamandir at 6:30pm on the 6th of May. According to the director, the relatability of the play and its contemporary subject matter will make it an enjoyable watch for everyone.
-Unmisha Misra and Tuba Waqar
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