Holi.

This I write, after having one of the most eventful days of my life.

On 2nd of March, we Performed our play Holi, at Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai. An opportunity granted to us by Team Thespo for showcasing our show there for Thespo@Prithvi.

Two shows. Both House full. While complimentary tickets were being sold to let people in, and little fights were breaking for getting inside the theatre, there we were: Standing in the dark alleys of the backstage. Waiting for the centre stage lights to go off. The show ended with a standing ovation and a feeling of satisfaction.

Now I wouldn’t say much about How we performed or how good the play was. Coming from me or anyone who was associated with the play, It would be a biased opinion. But I Do have one thing to say. I feel proud to  be a part of Holi.

The crew, a group of individuals who are as determined as the day, as powerful as the sun, and as playful as a new born baby. Each one different and unique in one way or the other. And each striving for one common goal. To produce a perfect show at Prithvi.

What started off as a play for Thespo with a bunch of people in a small flat in 7 bungalows, slowly became much much more than that. It became a ‘Revolution!’. A Fu**ing REVOLUTION!

Faces changed, locations for rehearsals changed. So did the moods, energy and tempo of the crew. Several charactors skipped bodies. Dialogues were changed. More and more improvisations came into picture.

The Best addition to the play was the Band. Ah! The Band without the drummer, How can we forget that. The group of people who started off with ‘Oh man! we don’t have anything interesting to play.” ended up catching the breathes and pulse of the whole audience. People swooned, people gasped as the plot was woven by the tunes of the music. Interestingly, we actually WERE looking for a drummer till the very last moment. But Oh well…what the hell. We got a photographer. :P

What we saw in Prithvi was just a matter of toying with the idea of how to improvise with not just the story, but the whole design of the play.

And it was all possible because of the stone like determination of Our director, the guy who was forced to take up the most important role in the play, that of Anand, at the very last moment, the one who always believed in each and every one of his Actors, Anuj. No matter what happened, whether we were kicked out of houses because of being too loud in a residential neighborhood (that happened twice by the way), whether actors suddenly decided to pack up and leave, or whether time decided to run a race against us, He would just not give up.

The rest of the crew was AMAZING! to say the least. No matter how much you try, it is difficult categorizing all of them in a single genre. Each one of them is as different and unique, as an apple from a mango. Still, I will try to summarize them in a as few lines as possible.

• Gopal urf Bhardwaj: This guy is the Kay kay Menon of our group. You want ideas about improvizing, want to know more about your character, want to present a scene in a better way, this guy has all the answers.

• Lalu and Taimur urf Gaurav and Mayur : You cannot take their names separately. For the sole fact that they are inseparable. The ‘aplu Taplu’ of the group, the smallest and the wildest ones, are a powerhouse.

• Ranjeet urf Rajat: The Dude! of the crew. IITB Passout who left the 9 to 5 job to do what he loves the most.  No nonsense guy who knows who he is playing.

• Basant urf Dilip : “U want Natural laughter? Wait. He he… off.. sorry, He Ha!” you know what I am talking about. :P

• Shrivastava urf Nikhil: The one who joined the last amongst the main team and who, effortlessly, blended in. As we found out later, we are from the same school. Different batches. :)

   

• Pandey urf Amol: Bhai Banda Smart hai bhai. Another IIT Grad who is better in acting than in crunching numbers. And how! Its amazing how some people can adapt to a role so quickly and effortlessly.

• Shreya urf Nidhi : “Hello guys.. ik Cigarette pila do…” Ah! this girl is fun-tastic.

• The guest aka Kartik : Calm, composed, silent, The official Photographer of the crew, and Yes. Dr. David. In one word: Cool.

• Warden sa’ab, vocals, guitars aka Arjun: The singer with the golden voice who dawned the robes of the Warden too. His voice set the tone of the play. His guitar strums took it forward, and ended it fashionably. Cool, funny and a lover of Beer. And yes, his I-pod. 

• Princi, Keyboards aka Nikhil : The synthi of the band who also played Princi Pandey has the uncanny habit of appearing sleepy. But more often than not, you would find him immersed in either the keyboards or his smoke. Wonderful guy.

• Announcer, bass guitarist aka Demitirius: A mike shinoda Look-alike, he is the most fun loving, cool, crazy, broken hindi-speaking guy you would ever come across. When he first entered the team, he could only speak bits and pieces of Hindi. And he fit the Role Purrr-fectly.

• The Chai wala urf Nimesh: The Last minute addition to the group who was supposed to stand under a tapri and serve chai to eveyone. Little did we know that onstage, he would become one of the most important part of the crew. During our first performance, the Roof of the tapri fell during a fight sequence between pandey and Basant. What was interesting was the coverup by Nimesh and the rest of the crew. While the chai wala looked dejected and sighed ‘ye kya kar diya saab’. Anuj while exiting quipped, ‘Theek kara lena bhaiya”. The second show saw him standing by the stand of the tapri so it doesn’t fall during the fight which, incidentally, again bumped the tapri. But thanks to our smart Chai wala, all went well.

• Lights by Anmol: The ‘anmol’ part of the team who took upon himself to do the lights for the play in Prithvi. Understanding the role of lights and effectively producing an impeccable ambience on set within a week’s time, this guy with a heavy voice and seemingly rough attitude, has a heart of gold. A workoholic who eats, drinks and sleeps work.

Looking back at the whole experience, I have just word to say: AMAZING! It has been one of my most wonderful experiences which I would cherish for a long long time. I had some really good moments, got to know a bit more about myself, and yes, made some wonderful friends.

I hope the journey continues with as much fun and frolic as it has till now. Learnings will happen along the road, and for whenever a ‘tapri’ falls during a running play…. we will improvize. :)

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A Special thanks to Quasar and to Team Thespo, without whom this would never have been possible. They were, infact, the starting point of the whole Journey. Lovely People. Lovely chemistry. Wonderful attitude. Never-Say-Die Hearts.

Thespo XIII Beckons.

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Photos Courtesy: Dilip, Anuj, Kartik