As I exited the Kamani Theatre in Delhi after watching "Saanp Seedhi," I bumped into a friend. Here's how our conversation unfolded:
Friend: "Saanp Seedhi" dekh ke aa rahe ho? Aadyam Productions ka hai na? Kaisa laga?
Me: Yaar, honestly, pehle pehle toh laga, "Yeh kya hai?" You know I love Aadyam’s programming. So expectations are always that there will be some dhamaal - big cast, bade sets ya phir complex narratives. Kuch toh hat ke hota hai hamesha. Aur yeh... Felt a bit... thanda.
Friend: Thanda? Like, boring?
Me: Nahi, nahi, boring nahi. More like, simple. You know, seedha-saadha. Just two characters and a living room. Linear narrative. It started ordinarily but then, dheere dheere, it got interesting.
Friend: What’s it about? You mentioned two characters. Who are they? Aur batao.
Me: Ok. First is Anil Wadhwa, Bollywood obsessed, maker of B Grade crime films. Aur there is Mayank, younger, bit stylish, architect. Anil ko pata hai ki Mayank ka chakkar chal raha hai uski wife Kavita ke saath. Aur woh Mayank ko apne ghar bulata hai, "Let’s have a chat," bolke.
Friend: Apne raqib ko apne he ghar bulaata hai?
Me: Haan. Unusual toh hai. Love Triangles toh bahut sune hain par a husband drinking and chatting with his rival in his living room is a first for me.
Friend: Phir?
Me: Anil, glib talker hai. And chaalu bhi bai. He appears nonchalant. He's like, "Okay, fine, she's leaving me for you. What can I say. But bhai, take it from me. I know her for 20 years. She's high maintenance. You need money, which I know you don’t have. But main hoon na - so don’t worry”. He suggests Mayank steal the jewels kept in his safe. Khud se chori karne ka plan samjhata hai usko.
Friend: Wait. Apni biwi ka lover. Apne hi living room mein. Aur khud se chori karne ko kah raha hai? That's quite a novel plotline.
Me: Exactly. Mayank, pehle toh suspicious ho jata hai. But then, he gets sucked into it. They start rehearsing the robbery. Aur phir, kab role-play role play hai aur kab real real hai gets blurred. Audience gets drawn in.
Friend: So, it's not just about the affair anymore?
Me: Nahi, that was just the trigger. It soon becomes about ego, pride and battle of wits. They vie for dominance in the verbal mind games. Saanp Seedhi title is perfect. Kabhi ek character metaphorical seedhi pe chadhta hai toh lagta hai woh aage hai, aur phir kabhi saanp ne kat liya toh woh phir neeche.
Friend: Hmmm. Phir?
Me: Phir - Is sab chori ke role playing ke beech, a gun gets fired and one of them slumps backwards on the sofa. The audience is caught by surprise.
<Lights Out> <Curtain Falls for the interval>
Friend: I think I’ll like it. Check karta hoon if they have tickets the next show.
<Friend leaves to check for tickets>
Well, I think you guys too get the drift. Overall, the storytelling is quite tight, flows well, and is quite funny in bits. Kumud Mishra (as Anil Wadhwa) is very good. Sumeet Vyas (as Mayank) seems tentative in comparison, especially in the first half. The direction by Shubrajyoti Barat is fine without being exceptional. The set design is more photogenic but clunky at some places.
By the way, the play itself is a Hindi adaptation of a Tony Award-winning play called “Sleuth” by English playwright Anthony Shaffer.
It’s certainly worth seeing, if you go without expectations. But I’ve seen better ones from the Aadyam stable.
My Rating: 3.5 Stars.
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