The theatre of hope: Md Zeeshan Ayyub returns to stage with Jhilmilganj Ke Sitare

When Ayyub told Agashe, his wife, that he wanted to return to acting on stage, the actor-director reached out to Riar, who suggested several two-hander plays before they settled on Popcorn Falls.

“A certain monotony sets in after doing on-camera work for several years. I had been yearning to act in a play. Everything aligned this time — from acting with Gagan, whose work I have long admired, to connecting with the play itself,” says Ayyub.

While mostly being faithful to the original, the team has Indianised the setting. American references have been replaced with local ones — the mayor becomes a block development officer (BDO), cultural references have been reworked, and songs have been woven into the narrative.

The story follows BDO Tousif, who discovers that Jhilmilganj is in danger of disappearing under a proposed dam project. Along with his secretary Jogi, he embarks on a frantic mission to save the town, meeting an array of eccentric residents along the way. Their unlikely solution is to stage a play that can rally the community.

“The play’s core message is that art can save the world. But it is never preachy,” says Agashe.

The production’s greatest challenge lies in its form. Between them, Ayyub and Riar play around 20 characters, with Riar portraying nearly 15 roles and Ayyub donning five. The performance depends on split-second costume changes, rapid vocal shifts and sharply defined physical transformations.

Ayyub last appeared on stage with Agashe in Iss Kambakht Sathe Ka Kya Karein?, which they performed between 2008 and 2018. Since then, he has become known for films such as Raanjhanaa, Raees and Tanu Weds Manu Returns.

For Riar, whose theatre credits include Stories in a Song and Piya Behrupiya, and who has appeared in A Suitable Boy and Scam 2003: The Telgi Story, the play has been unlike anything he has attempted before. “It’s a difficult play to shape. After every few scenes, we’d ask ourselves, ‘How do we take this forward?’ It was physically exhausting because of the number of characters. But that’s also what makes it exciting,” he says.

Ayyub agrees that the mechanics of the play demand unwavering focus. “With so many quick transitions, we have to stay alert all the time. Sometimes a character has just one line, but even that requires a completely different approach. Every entry has to feel distinct.”

The production also prompted him to revisit skills he had not practised in years. “I learnt stage singing at NSD, but I hadn’t done voice exercises in a long time. This play pushed me to reconnect with that training.”

Beyond the technical rigour, both actors say the experience reaffirmed what makes theatre irreplaceable. “That connection with your fellow actors and with a live audience is unlike anything else,” says Riar. For Ayyub, the return is less about nostalgia than rediscovering the exhilaration of live performance.

Jhilmilganj Ke Sitare will be staged at Prithvi Theatre on July 30 and 31.