Excelsior Correspondent
Jammu, July 16: A female theatre actor and director of the State created a historical milestone on the theatrical milieu of the state by producing two full length plays, second the sequel of the first, to jam packed Abhinav Theatre on the same day – an effort which surely has left an impacting impression on the audience and theatre doers of the State.
Haadsa; Haqeeqat ! was presented by Neha Lahotra – a combo of two plays viz Ardhkaavya and Poornviraam with an interval gap of 30 minutes after the first play on which the audience were treated with refreshment while the second play unfolded later.
The cast and crew of both the plays that orchestrated its performance skills, both on the stage and back stage was remarkably tight and accomplished that delivered the best in nearly four hour long opus to which the entire audience glued to —spellbound.
“I have seen 3 hours performance in Mumbai, but for people in Jammu taking up such herculean task with two plays on same day with half hour intermission yielding to set, music, property and design change was an incredible endeavor,” said Ritwik Vyas, a NSD pass out presently associated with Mumbai theatre.
Neha Lahotra, the director herself enacted in both plays to two different characters with variegated shades of histrionics. Her team included Aaditya Bhanu, Anoop Goswami, Varun Sharma, Sushil Raina, Neeraj Sharma, Munish K Jinsi, and Himanshu as a forte of male dominance while Harneet Kour, Karishma Bajgal and Smriti Dutta held the feminine flamboyance with apt ease and elegance.
Bharat Sharma, who was seen capturing the entire show was an elted person. “it was an exemplary theatrical produce to which Jammu was treated. I am the one privileged among them,” he said.
Produced by Rangshala theatre Group of Society, the gist of the play Ardhkaavya dealt with the breaking ideologies of human mindsets in a powerful drama enacted in a family where the central player splits often to find himself torn apart by his own multidimensional identities. This leads to horrendous revelations of the impious facts of the family that later embraces suicide as salvation. Neha as Divya gave a memorable performance while Varun as Rahul was at histrionics best. Harneet Kour as somber Malti Sinha and Anoop Goswami as Dharam Pal Sinha presented as an epitome chiseled actors.
In Poornviraam, its sequel, left abandoned with her harebrained child Chirag after the great fall of Sinhas in Haadsa Haqeeqat, Divya has no other option but to carry on the legacy of Maya, who challenges many Shekhars in her journey of life. The transitional changes in the course of events direct all these characters to one point of subjugation. All fall defeated to welcome the ushering in of ‘new imagination’ of the world order. Besides Neha as Maya, Aditya Bhanu as Shekhar was the pivotal success of Poornviraam. Bhanu produced a spellbinding performance. Sushil as Vikram Sanyal became the heartthrob of audience while Karishma, Munish, Smriti and Himanshu chipped in with effective personifications of Mayas and Shekhars.
Aided by Ministry of Culture, Government of India, both plays were written by Vikram Sharma. Sets and costumes by Shalini Sharma added flavor to the show as lights and music did the icing on the cake.
Chief guest on the occasion, Nirmal Kamal, Chairperson, Social Welfare Board (MoS ) appreciated the first time combo theatre effort in the State, Recalling her association with theatre, she said her first love is always theatre. She also revisited her memory lanes while speaking to the audience about her own good times of theatre and hoped the new generation will carry forward the legacy.
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