The plot revolves around a simple guy who wants to get married, and an independent free-thinking girl, who does not believe in the philosophy of marriage
- ‘Maja Majare’ is the Odia translation of play ‘Chuhal’ by Manav Kaul
- The play raises questions on the concept of relationship, marriage, ambitions and life altogether
BHUBANESWAR: A three-day theatre fest Ranga Utsav, organised by Jeevan Rekha theatre group, kicked off at Rabindra Mandap in Bhubaneswar, Tuesday.
The play ‘Chuhal’, originally written by writer, actor and director (of many plays) Manav Kaul, which is translated into Odia as ‘Maja Majare’ was staged on the inaugural day.
Interacting with Orissa POST, director of the play Abhinna Routray said, “Last year too, Jeevan Rekha staged one of Manav Kaul’s play— ‘Park’. It had received critical acclaim too.” Notably, the play ‘Chuhal’ is one of the most popular plays in contemporary theatre.
Actors Dipwanit Das Mohapatra, Sheetal Pattnaik, Kirti Mohanty, Deepanjali Mohanty and Rajashree Swain with their energetic performances tickled the funny bones of the audience and left them spellbound.
It may be mentioned here that ‘Chuhal’ is a light romantic comic play set in a small town. The plot revolves around Sudheer, a simple guy who wants to get married, and Aarti, an independent free-thinking girl, who does not believe in the philosophy of marriage. Aarti is overconfident, forthright, and strikingly free. Above all, she admittedly understands her intrinsic nature – to be mesmerised by the enigmatic and bored by things which she already knows and understands. Sudheer flickers like a firefly in his admiration for her, evanescent when she visits his village, where he is a humble schoolteacher lost in the daily humdrum of a stagnated, lacklustre life, and depressed when she spurns him for being just another mediocre guy looking for nothing more from life than what is stale. He has ambitions, yes, and she pushes him to explore them only to confuse him more. The narrative uses joyful teasing between them to keep the play interesting. Aarti’s mother and Sudheer’s sister add to the interesting brand of humour that the play carries right through. The play raises questions on the concept of relationship, marriage, ambitions and life altogether. The play is not definitively in support of any singular ideology but it enlightens the freedom of choice.
It is to be noted here that several leading TV and movie artistes have worked in the play.
Maja Majare’s music is scored by Shakti Prasad Mishra while makeup is done by Banchhanidhi Patnaik.
The first show of Ranga Utsav witnessed a jam-packed gallery with audience who enjoyed the comic situations.