Journalism of Courage
A theatre company announces an audition for the play Hamlet,but nobody turns up. The artistes are now face a dilemma. On one hand,they want to satisfy their creative hunger,but on the other,they need to find an alternative to survive in the business. Finally,they choose the latter. The group accepts an offer from an NRI who wants them to make a Bollywood film.
The storyline of Motley Monks production Shakespeare Meets Bollywood A Laughing Express is not only a satire on English theatre groups,but also on the Hindi film audience. When it comes to English theatre,there are few takers even though it offers great scripts and plots. Meanwhile,people are ready to shell out big bucks to watch a Bollywood film,which,most of the times,is not worth the amount one pays, says Sameer Khan,writer and director of the English comedy play. The maiden show of Shakespeare Meets Bollywood will be staged at the city today.
That the play might hurt the sentiments of English theatre groups is something Khan is not worried about. I am hoping that they will take it in the right spirit, says Khan.
Whats interesting is that the plays cast,which includes Angad Patwadhan,Sai Kolte,Pankaj Naidu,Aseem Dubey,Sohrab and Sylvia,are full-time professionals from various fields,though a majority work with IT firms. Khah,an IT professional till a year ago,is also playing one of the main characters in the play. In the past,he has featured in the play Toba Tek Singh.
Khan founded Motley Monks in early 2012. The groups first production was a Hindi play titled Imaan,which was first staged in September 2012,followed by a show in August this year,and Shakespeare Meets Bollywood is their second production.
The play will be staged today at Nehru Memorial Hall,Camp,at 9.30 pm
