Bombay talkies

Rajit Kapur in a scene from the play

If the play Class of ’84 (2003) was about seven friends who meet after a long time in Mumbai because of the death of their eighth friend Jojo, Pune Highway (2004) portrays three friends stuck in a dodgy hotel off a Mumbai-Pune highway. They have witnessed the murder of their fourth friend and want to reach Mumbai as soon as possible. Playwright Rahul Da Cunha loves to throw friends into extraordinary situations and see how they react. His third play Me, Kash and Cruise, which opened in Mumbai in April 2008, also has two common factors — friends and Mumbai. Presented by Entre Nous and co-sponsored by PortsideCafe Furniture Studio, the play premiered in Pune on March 20 at The Westin, Koregaon Park.
Disturbed by the thought of “where the city of Mumbai is headed”, Cunha wrote Me Kash and Cruise in 2007 because he felt it was important to encapsulate the city’s changing scenario in theatre. “The story is about three Bombay-based college friends. The years pass, the city changes from Bombay to Mumbai, and the friends get older. The play shows how the friends react to events in the city such as riots, bomb blasts and political hooliganism,” says Cunha, whose career in theatre started in 1984 when he directed Nuts, a courtroom drama by Tom Topor.
His production Larins Sahib was the first Indian play to be staged at the Edinburgh Festival in 1991. This was followed by I’m Not Bajirao in 1996, an Indianised adaptation of Herb Gardner’s I’m Not Rappaport. From the year 2002 onwards, Cunha started penning his own plays, a creative turn which gave birth to Class of ’84 and Pune Highway.
The title of Me, Kash and Cruise is based on nicknames of the characters. “Me” is Pooja Thomas, essayed by actor Yamini Namjoshi, whose journey is intertwined with that of her close friends — Rakesh Kashyap aka Kash, and Parvez Khan aka Cruise. While Kash is played by Neil Bhoopalam, actor Amit Mistry essays the role of Cruise. Not categorising the play into any particular genre, Cunha says, “It is a slice-of-life comedy, which has a healthy portion of humour and nostalgia.”
Produced by Rage Productions, the play features a cameo by veteran theatre and film actor Rajit Kapur, who has acted in plays such as Larins Sahib, Love Letters, Are There Tigers in the Congo?, Mister Behram and Six Degrees of Separation. The actor, who won the National Award for his role in the film Making of the Mahatma (1996), was also applauded for his work in films such as Suraj ka Satwan Ghoda (1992), Sardari Begum (1996), Zubeida (2001) and Well Done Abba (2010). Cunha says, “Kapoor doesn’t have a name and represents Bombay by playing various characters; he is versatile and manifests various aspects of the city. For instance, when there are riots, he plays a gunda, and when there is a political chaos, he becomes a party worker.”
Despite the fact that the play revolves around Mumbai, Cunha says it will suit the taste of Pune audiences. “I like performing in Pune and have always seen this city as an extension of Mumbai. Also, given the city’s proximity, Puneites will be able to connect very well with the play,” he says.